Chattanooga, Tenn. – Behind timely offense and strong pitching from sophomore Amanda Fulton, third-seeded Western Carolina softball opened the 2026 Southern Conference Championship with a 2-1 victory over mountain-rival and sixth-seeded East Tennessee State on Thursday at Frost Field.
Fulton (16-7) limited the Buccaneers to one run while scattering 10 hits and striking out four, stranding eight ETSU base runners in the winning effort.
Western Carolina (34-22) advances to Friday afternoon's meeting with the second-seeded Samford in the winner's bracket. The first pitch is scheduled for 1 p.m. Tournament game times are subject to change; check CatamountSports.com, SoConSports.com, or WCU's social media for any schedule alterations.
Thursday's win also moved the Catamounts into second all-time for single-season victories, breaking a tie for the runner-up spot with the 2016 program, which had a 33-win season.
On a third-inning single, junior Maya McPherson broke WCU's single-season hits record, becoming the first Catamount to reach 76 hits in a year. McPherson and classmate Lily Bell both finished with two-hit contests against ETSU. Bell reached base three times, adding a walk to her 2-for-2 effort.
Bell (2-for-2) and junior Becka Wonsick (2-for-3) led the way for WCU with four of the team's seven hits. Bell has hits in each of her last 14 games, a season-high for the Catamounts, while also reaching base safely in 18 straight. Wonsick has compiled a 13-game reached base streak. Bell grabbed her 24th multi-hit game of the season, while Wonsick became the sixth different Catamount to reach double digits in multi-hit games with 10.
Senior Taylor Waitley, McPherson, and senior Tate Stewman each got into the hit column for WCU.
The Catamounts advanced to 19-0 when holding opponents to two runs or fewer, and climbed to 21-9 when scoring first this season. WCU also earned its 20th win of the year when it did not allow a home run to its opponents.
Gallery: (5-7-2026) SoCon Softball Championship - vs. ETSU
ETSU (22-29) started quickly with a pair of singles, but Fulton induced a sacrifice bunt before a strikeout to erase the threat in the opening half inning. Bell led off with a single in the home half, but was stranded at third to keep the opening inning scoreless.
Fulton picked up a 1-2-3 second before the WCU offense got its footing in Thursday's action. Stewman and Wonsick opened the inning with back-to-back singles before a Bucs wild pitch put the Catamounts in scoring position with no outs. Tatum Martin drove a flyball to deep left, scoring Stewman on the sacrifice fly for the first run of the night. With Courtney Marks aboard with a walk and during Bell's at-bat, Marks and Wonsick successfully converted a double steal to push the lead to 2-0.
The Bucs threatened with a pair of singles in the third before McPherson flashed the leather with a double play to erase the threat and keep the lead at two. She snared a ground ball at the bag at third, forcing out the first runner before delivering a strike to first for the second out.
In the fifth, Fulton worked around a pair of one-out singles with a strikeout in the front and back side of the fifth to keep her 2-0 shutout intact. Bell picked up a leadoff single in the fifth paired with her 26th steal, but the Bucs kept the deficit at two.
ETSU broke onto the scoreboard in the sixth with back-to-back doubles, with the second two-bagger plating a run to cut the deficit to one, 2-1. Fulton buckled down with three straight outs to keep the advantage at one.
The Bucs grabbed a one-out single in the seventh, looking for the tie. However, a flyout and punchout of the looking variety propelled the Catamounts to Friday's winners' bracket.
Fulton tossed her 16th complete game of the season, going the distance as she scattered 10 hits and one run with four strikeouts to earn the opening game triumph. The first-team all-conference honoree has now totaled 158 strikeouts to lead the Purple & Gold pitching staff.
Marissa Barnes (3-5) made the start for the Bucs, going 4.0 innings and allowing five hits and two runs with a strikeout. Taylor Suchy pitched the final two frames for ETSU as she allowed just two hits with a strikeout in relief of Barnes.
Western Carolina continues the SoCon tournament on Friday at 1 p.m. against No. 2 seed Samford. With a win on Friday, the Catamounts would progress to Saturday morning with a matchup against the winner of Friday morning's showdown between No.1 seed UNCG and No.4 seed Wofford. Coverage of each of the tournament games is available on ESPN+ (paid subscription required) and with live stats through CatamountSports.com.
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