CULLOWHEE, N.C. (April 23, 2026) – The ETSU baseball team will continue its road swing through North Carolina this weekend with a key three-game series at Western Carolina. Due to the forecast, the Bucs and Catamounts will play a doubleheader on Friday afternoon beginning at 3 p.m. with a single game on Sunday starting at 1 p.m. to conclude the series.
Probable Pitching Matchups
LHP Tadan Bell (ETSU) vs. RHP Carter Burnette (WCU) - Friday @ 3 p.m. | Live Stats | Audio
RHP Michael Harpster (ETSU) vs. RHP James Fordham (WCU) - Friday – 45 minutes after the conclusion of game one | Live Stats | Audio
RHP Cooper Jones (ETSU) vs. LHP Evan Myers (WCU) - Sunday @ 1 p.m. | Live Stats | ESPN+
Last Time Out – The Buccaneers dropped a midweek contest at Appalachian State on Tuesday by a score of 3-1. With Tuesday's loss, ETSU moved to 25-13 on the 2026 season.
Critical SoCon Series – As we approach the end of April, the Bucs and Catamounts are two of the four teams in the SoCon that have eight conference wins with Samford and Wofford being the other two. ETSU, which won the SoCon last season with a 14-7 record, has played its best on the weekend though as it has won six consecutive series and has lost just one series this season (at James Madison).
Crushing the Ball in Conference Play – A key in ETSU's 8-4 start to its conference schedule has been the play of
Tristan Curless. Curless is batting .511 (24-for-47) with two home runs and 12 RBI in 12 SoCon games this season. The senior from Amarillo, Texas has also provided some help to the Bucs on the mound with a pair of saves, one win and an opponent's batting average of just .154 in three appearances covering four innings.
Harpster about to join a group of elite ETSU pitchers – ETSU's scheduled game two starter
Michael Harpster has a chance to join a group of elite ETSU pitchers. Harpster needs just one more win to become the fifth ETSU pitcher to earn 21 or more victories during their time pitching for the Bucs. Harpster would join Jeff Andrews (34 wins), Jeremy Hall (24 wins), Matt Baber (22 wins), and Nathanial Tate (21 wins) as Buc pitchers to reach that milestone.
Setting the Table at the Top of the Order – For most of the season,
Nate Conner and
Henry Ferguson have been hitting first and second in ETSU's batting order. Both Conner and Ferguson have lengthy streaks of reaching base successfully sitting at 34 and 39 games, respectively. Furthermore, Conner paces all ETSU hitters with 27 extra base hit (14 doubles, two triples, 11 home runs) and Ferguson ranks among the top 10 in the SoCon in batting average (6
th - .378), hits (6
th – 54), and on-base percentage (7
th - .492).
About Western Carolina – The Catamounts have been playing well lately with a 7-1 record over their last eight games. WCU, which is 27-15 overall and 8-4 in SoCon play, also has a victory over nationally-ranked Georgia on its resume. Offensively, Western Carolina is powered by home runs as it ranks 29
th in Division I baseball with 64 long balls in 43 games. WCU's pitching staff, meanwhile, surrenders the fewest walks per nine innings in the SoCon (3.35) and is aided by the Catamount defense that has turned a SoCon-best 32 double plays this spring.
Series Rewind vs. WCU – There is plenty of history between ETSU and WCU over the years. The Catamounts hold the edge in the all-time series 72-51. However, the Bucs have won six of the last seven matchups between these two programs, including an exciting 16-13 victory in the SoCon Tournament last May.
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