Wildcats Seek Second Straight Series Win, Host Western Carolina This Weekend

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DAVIDSON, N.C. — After taking two of three from The Citadel on the road, the Davidson Wildcats will go after a second straight series victory when they host the Western Carolina Catamounts at Wilson Field this weekend.

Junior LHP Chris Lamb (1-2, 2.88) will be on the hill for Davidson (10-10, 4-4 SoCon) on Friday night at 7 p.m. against Western Carolina's (8-10, 0-6 SoCon) senior RHP Matt Benedict (0-1, 4.12).

Senior RHP Ian Horkley (2-2, 3.80) will make the start for the 'Cats on Saturday at 2 p.m. against Western's freshman RHP Jordan Smith (2-2, 4.30).

Davidson has yet to announce a starter for Sunday's 1 p.m. game, when Western will throw freshman RHP Dakotah Thomas (1-1, 3.71).

About the Series
Western Carolina leads the all-time series, 82-23. The teams began playing on March 26, 1977, and last met May 22 last season. The Catamounts have won the last 13 straight against the Wildcats, including four straight series sweeps. Davidson's last win against Western dates back to April 29, 2006 — a 12-6 win in Cullowhee. Davidson's last series win was in 2000 at Wilson Field when the Wildcats won two of three, (4-3, 4-15, 3-2).

About the Wildcats
Davidson enters the weekend ranked sixth in the Southern Conference, behind Georgia Southern (4-2) and ahead of two other four-win teams, Furman (4-4) and The Citadel (4-5). The Wildcats are ranked seventh in the league in team ERA (4.37), but continue to trail in both batting average (.249) and fielding percentage (.943).

Freshman left fielder Forrest Brandt is third in the conference with a .429 batting average and ranks among conference leaders in slugging percentage (12th) and on-base percentage (fifth). Junior first baseman Drew Gadaire ranks sixth with a .403 clip and is 15th in slugging. Leading the league with 13 appearances, Frongello is second in the league with a 0.90 ERA. Lamb is tied for third with 39 strikeouts. Horkley has allowed just two walks this season, second best in the league.

Tuesday's 22-run explosion is the most the Wildcats have put up since their 29-7 win over Mt. Saint Mary's Feb. 26 last season, when the 'Cats scored 17 runs in the first inning. Prior to that, Davidson played three of its nine one-run games. The 'Cats are 7-2 in one-run games this season, after winning only two one-run games a season ago.

About the Catamounts
The Catamounts are coming off an 8-8, rain-shortened tie against Gardner-Webb Wednesday night. Prior to that contest, the Catamounts had lost four straight, including a three-game sweep by Elon (6-5, 5-4, 9-6) in Cullowhee this weekend. Western was also swept by UNCG (5-4, 11-4, 9-6) on the road in league play this season. The Catamounts started with a three-game sweep of Morehead State as a part of a 7-3 opening to 2011. But after having four straight games cancelled or postponed, Western has gone 1-7-1 in its last nine games prior to this weekend's series.

Western is last in the league standings, despite ranking fourth in batting average (.283) and fifth in fielding percentage (.964). The Catamounts rank 10th in team ERA (5.05). Individually, Ross Heffley (sixth, .411) and Stephen Notaro (14th, .362) are in the top 15 in batting average, and Heffley is second with nine doubles.

Last Meeting
The Wildcats dropped three straight games in Cullohee (6-7(10), 5-7, 2-11) to finish the season in 2010. Thursday's game was a back-and-forth contest with four lead changes and three ties, before Austin Schultz' walk off double in the bottom of the 10th. Davidson knotted the score on an RBI-single from Seth Freeman, and Andy Bass struck out two of three batters in the final half-inning to force extra innings. With Western Carolina starter Matt Benedict gone, the Wildcats got to reliever Brandon Johnson for three runs on two hits and an error in the top of the 10th, but the Catamounts turned a bases-loaded, one-out situation into four runs in the home half to escape with the victory.

The Catamounts used a three-run eighth for a 7-5 comeback win over the Wildcats to win the series Friday night. Michael Zeblo (2-for-4, HR, 2 RBI) tied the game with a leadoff solo home run in the third, but Western Carolina went back ahead with two runs in the bottom half. Davidson, though, put up three runs in the top of the fourth when Coleman Barron (1-for-4, 2 RBI) and Zeblo hit back-to-back triples and added another run in the fifth on Andrew Barna's (1-for-4, HR) seventh home run of the season to push its lead to 5-3. The Catamounts began their comeback with a run in the bottom half inning on an RBI-single by catcher Ollie Goulder and took the lead for good with three runs in the eighth, keyed by a two-RBI double from Matt Johns.

Kyle Stewart struck out 10 and Trevor Collias drove in four runs to lead the Catamounts to an 11-2 win over the Wildcats in the season finale Saturday afternoon. In his final game, Tommy Piacenza went a perfect 4-for-4 and hit his first home run of the season in the ninth, but Davidson was trailing 10-1. Collias' two-run home run in the second started Western's scoring, and Ross Heffley doubled in a pair in the fourth. Cameron Dullnig's two-run triple in the fifth made it 8-0 in favor of Western, who added the final two in the sixth on Collias' two-RBI double. The Wildcats got their other run in the eighth when Gadaire doubled in Freeman, who reached on the game's only error.

Last Time Out
After opening a 12-0 lead, the Davidson Wildcats needed a seven-run eighth and senior RHP Mike Frongello to survive the N.C. A&T Aggies, 22-15, in a wild non-conference game Tuesday night at Wilson Field. Davidson put up 12 runs in the first three innings. An RBI-double by Brandt (3-for-5, 2 RBI) and a sacrifice fly from Barna (1-for-4, 5 RBI) were part of the team's three-run first, before the Wildcats batted around for six runs on three hits in the second. Gadaire (2-for-4, 3 RBI) made it 11-0 for Davidson with a two-RBI triple in the third, and senior designated hitter Danny Weiss (1-for-3, 2 RBI) tacked on another with a sac fly.

Senior RHP Ryan Overcash (W, 1-1) faced just one over the minimum, allowing a lone two-out base hit through three innings, until N.C. A&T (6-14) scratched across a pair of runs in the fourth. Overcash left the game with a 10-run lead, but the Aggies put up 14 runs over the next four innings, to cut Davidson's lead to just a run, 15-14, in the seventh. Macklin, who went 4-for-6 with three RBI, got a leadoff base hit before A&T loaded the bases with one out in the eighth. Gadaire cut down the lead runner at the plate, and Frongello got out of the inning with a strikeout to leave the bases juiced and pick up his third save of the season.

The Wildcats batted around for seven runs on two hits, an error, five walks and a hit by pitch in the bottom half. Weiss plated the 'Cats' first run on an RBI-single, and Barna drove in his fifth RBI on a groundout before freshman right fielder Kelly Myers (1-for-4, RBI) took a bases-loaded walk and J.P. Craven (1-for-2, 2 RBI) drove in a pair on a two-RBI single to center in his second at-bat of the inning.

Next Up
Davidson wraps up its five-game home stand with a 6 p.m. game against N.C. A&T Tuesday, March 29, before traveling to Birmingham, Ala., for a three-game set with Samford (15-8, 5-1 SoCon).

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