Western Carolina’s baseball club improved to 19-10 in Southern Conference competition and 32-20 overall by defeating Davidson (11-16 SoCon) in a three-game series, played in three consecutive days at Davidson, May 14-16, 2009. Each game was a hard fought victory as Davidson rallied to close the gap each night.
In game one, the Catamounts were able to pull out a two-run, 10-8 victory in the 12th inning at Davidson’s Wilson Field. Ross Heffley’s RBI single in the top of the 12th drove Rembert Rollison home, while Brent Greer drove in classmate Nick Liles to seal the win as the Catamounts outlasted the Wildcats.
Catamount Chris Masters had a superior performance in the starting role by scattering four base hits and one unearned run through seven innings. He limited Davidson to one hit through the first five innings and countered one walk with 10 strikeouts. Mike Tavernier tossed the final two innings of hitless, scoreless relief to earn the victory. Dylan de Graaf finished with a team-best 4-for-6 performance in the win, while Liles was 3-for-5 with a double and a sacrifice hit as WCU stranded 16 base runners on the night. Matt Johns drove in three as a part of a 2-for-6 performance in the win.
Game two forced the Catamounts to hold back the Wildcats 11-10 in May 15’s victory. A solo run in the ninth pulled Davidson within one, with two runners on. Daniel Ottone struck out the final two batters with runners at the corners to salvage the win and record a consecutive series win.
Corey Martin scattered the five base hits through five innings, working around five walks with seven strikeouts to pick up the win for the Catamounts. Western Carolina stole eight bases as a team including two by Trevor Collias.
The final game in the series sealed the series sweep with a 6-3 victory for the Catamounts. The team was led by Mike Tavernier, who scattered seven base hits and three runs through a nine-inning complete game to record his second career complete game.
Davidson jumped on top early, but the Catamounts rallied to take the lead for good in the fifth inning. The team pushed across an insurance run in the top of the ninth as freshman Ross Heffley doubled down the right field line ahead of Brent Greer who legged out a two-bagger down the left field line to provide the final score.
This series sweep improved Western Carolina’s SoCon standings to fourth place before the Southern Conference Tournament.
The Southern Conference Sports Media Association (SCSMA) and the league’s head coaches named Western Carolina’s Brent Greer to the All-Southern Conference first team at shortstop and Ross Heffley was selected as the league’s Freshman of the Year when the regular season concluded.
