May 25, 2009

Cullowhee, N.C. - Gathered for a team meal at O'Malley's in Sylva to watch the "Road to Omaha" selection show, the 2009 Western Carolina Catamount baseball season came to a close on Monday as the team was not selected to receive an at-large bid into the field of 64.

Finishing fourth in the regular season SoCon standings, the Catamounts (35-22) were considered a solid bubble team by most pundits entering the conference championship in Greenville, S.C. A convincing opening round win over fellow bubble-dweller, College of Charleston, continued to give WCU a thumbs up. Yet, a loss to regular season champion, Elon, and being eliminated by eighth-seeded Furman may have burst the proverbial bubble.

WCU was perceived to be held out of the tournament by the admission of Conference-USA member, Southern Mississippi and Big XII at-large squads, Baylor and Oklahoma State - the latter of which missed its conference tournament.

The Big XII and Southeastern (SEC) Conferences each tallied eight teams apiece into the field of 64, with the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) tallying seven to account for 36-percent of the championship field from just three conferences.

Western Carolina faced five tournament teams during the regular season including blanking Ohio Valley Conference (OVC) champion, Tennessee Tech, 11-0, and upending regional host Georgia Tech at home when the Yellow Jackets were atop the RPI standings.

The Catamounts' 35 seasonal victories were the most under second-year head coach Bobby Moranda, the 22nd time since 1984 that Western Carolina secured 30 victories in a season and the seventh 30+ win season since 2000. WCU finished the season strong by winning 13 of its final 19 games on the year including 10 of those victories away from home.

Nine Catamounts Scheduled to Play in Summer Wooden Bat Leagues
As of May 26, nine Catamounts are planning on playing in the various summer collegiate wooden bat leagues, while four are planning on attending summer school classes in Cullowhee.

Two players will participate in the prestigious Cap Cod summer league as SoCon Freshman of the Year, Ross Heffley, will play in Orleans and hard-throwing junior closer Daniel Ottone will play with the Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox. The duo will be the fourth and fifth players, respectively, to play in the Cape over the past three seasons - Nick Liles and Chris Masters played for the Y-D Red Sox last summer, while Steven Strausbaugh also played for the same organization.

Matt Johns, who finished the season with a 22-game hitting streak, will be joined by right-handed reliever Jason Sullivan as teammates with the Wilson Tobs in the Coastal Plains League, with pitchers Garrett Baker (New Market), Matt Benedict (Haymarket) and Lee Murray (Haymarket) will be showcasing their talent in the Valley League. Freshmen Radley Haddad and Andrew Blackwell will play for the Hamilton Joes of the Great Lakes League.

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Cape Cod League:
Ross Heffley - Orleans (Mass.) Firebirds
Daniel Ottone - Yarmouth-Dennis (Mass.) Red Sox

Coastal Plains League:
Matt Johns - Wilson (N.C.) Tobs
Jason Sullivan - Wilson (N.C.) Tobs

Great Lakes Collegiate Baseball League:
Andrew Blackwell - Hamilton (Ohio) Joes
Radley Haddad - Hamilton (Ohio) Joes

Valley League:
Garrett Baker - New Market (Va.) Rebels of the Valley League
Matt Benedict - Haymarket (Va.) Senators of the Valley League
Lee Murray - Haymarket (Va.) Senators of the Valley League

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