Rants and Ramblings
A New Year and A New Schedule
It's 2016 and a lot of things have changed over the past off season. One of more exciting things is that Baseball Bob is now a dad, welcoming Cort into the world on December 2nd, 2015. We look forward to seeing this future catamount grow into a Left Field Lunatic. Elsewhere we watched Tyler White climb the ranks and collect championship rings like they are candy at the quarter machine in Ingles; keep it up man guy! We also saw Coach Beck leave us for greener pastures, coaching down at Georgia State as their new hitting coach.
And of course the schedule was released on December 18th, prompting us to stoke the coals and get the fire going again. We have a short breakdown of the schedule found below and as always, the entire schedule is on the right side of the screen.
2016 Schedule Notes:
- Season opener is away this season; Feb 19th against UNCW
- 1st home game of the season is Feb 26th against Louisiana - Monroe (weekend series)
- The ENTIRE month of March home game schedule has games on weekdays, with only one weekend series and that even starts on Thursday. Not an ideal setup for the traveling fan
- Clemsucks is at home on March 30th and we go down to Clemsucks on April 12th
- Big time schools include; Georgia Tech, Indiana, Clemson, Virginia Tech and Georgia
- Last home game of the season is against UNCG on May 15th
We still will be on the hill this year, excited to keep the tradition alive for the 8th year and we welcome anyone and everyone to join us. We have 9 new players to welcome to Fortress Cullowhee and we hope you will join us to make their first season a memorable one.
See you all on the 26th!!!
- Preston 1.4.16
A Sampling of 2015 Ramblings
Bring Back "Phat"; Conference Play
The good, the bad and the ugly. We understand seasons come and go, some teams pasting wins like they want to work for Res Life this summer painting dorms while others look like they might be scared to get wet when walking on a dew laden field. It seems this season our team falls somewhere in the middle.
We have moments of glory and moments of despair. Whether it be slapping 15 runs in one inning to not being able to get an out with bases loaded and two outs on the board. This up and down roller coaster of emotions might make some feel queasy, but its most helpful to have 5 full seasons under our belt and don't fret just yet, because we sure as hell aint.
Right now we are 8-9 overall and 6-4 at home.
Who cares? The real season starts this Friday in Greensboro as the Cats with Bats take the Catamount Road Show down to UNCG to begin conference play. That's right, conference play. For the ultimate quest is Omaha and without winning 40 games in a season to get an at large bid (didn’t help Campbell in 2013 with 45 wins), the next best item up for grab is a regular season championship followed by a tourney championship. We've had our 1st round and went back for seconds in 2014, now it’s time to embrace gluttony and go back for 3rd's. Let's bring back "phat".
As a fan don’t let the Boys of Spring see your despair but instead let me them see your perseverance, your unwavering support, as this is when the tide turns. The weather is coming around, the days are getting longer, girls are coming out of jeans into shorts and skirts and by golly we need to get hyped for Clemson at home next Tuesday.
We have a 3 game series at UNCG this weekend and minus our twitter coverage, our sights and efforts are focused on Tuesday, March 24th, the day Clemson comes into Fortress Cullowhee. Spread the word! Tell your teachers you'll be sick that day, prep the boss you might be late to work on Wednesday and whatever you do bring a friend. This is our biggest game of the year with over 150 people on the hill and even more down along the fence and to miss it might bring about a feeling of regret you can’t shake till next season.
Baseball might be a waterlogged right now, but we're about to pull this season out of the dryer and feel so fresh and so clean clean when we start conference play this Friday. Go get 'em boys.
- Preston 3.19.15
Touch the Bag! Touch, Touch, the Bag!
Well that felt good didn't it? No im not just talking about stuffing myself with jambalaya (although that was absolutely on point) I am talking about playing good baseball and winning at Fortress Cullowhee. With a 4 game home set coinciding with great weather I was looking forward to this weekend with enthusiasm. Upon realizing that it was spring break and most people don't like drinking beer on a hill while watching baseball, yelling encouragements from said hill, and all around enjoying a great atmosphere unless it coincides with their academic schedule, we would be struggling for numbers on the hill. That concern was short lived as soon as we took to the hillside on Friday afternoon.
It ain't about quantity, its about quality folks and my goodness were we given a golden opportunity to pour it on when Holy Cross's catcher failed to make a routine play at home and forgot to TOUCH THE BAG TOUCH TOUCH THE BAG. Honestly, I don't know if I have seen that before but not only will I take it, I'll bite your damn hand off for a hilarious Lunticing opportunity like that. After a few renditions of the old TOUCH THE BAG and The Catcher Didn't Touch the Bag (to the tune of Another One Bites The Dust, because ooooooooh boy did he) and a few more runs scored, the game was clinched and we got to summit the fence for the first beer pour in a few weeks. HE WHO SHALL MOUNTETH AND FOUNTEH, SHALL POURETH THE GLORETH.
Taking our talents to Saturday (because who wants to take them to south beach) we got to feel what it was like to break the 20 run marker for the first time this year. With a final score of 22-11, the Cats with Bats could've won even if we only counted the 15 runs we scored in the 7th inning alone. That ish was righteous to see. Between the first and second game the Lunatics were invited to join the Catamount Baseball Family for a cookout. While the food was delicious, I think we enjoyed the company and support of Catamount Nation the most. We may just be some screwballs on a hill who like to get LOUD and PROUD to support the Cats with Bats but hearing from our fellow Western fans that they enjoy what we do and support us really does make a world of difference. Thank you all so much for the food, kind words, and financial support. I think after dropping 3/4s of a 20 jobber in one inning the fellas didn't want to pile it on in game 2. We dropped the 2nd of the double header I think just so Holy Cross wouldn't leave town early and forego the Sunday game.
Well wouldn't you know it, it wasn't Holy Cross but the damn umps that tried to sneak out of town on us. After corralling the blue shirts back to Cullowhee an hour an a half after the planned first pitch, those turds said we didn't have time to play the national anthem because they had to be leaving by 3pm. Well if you need to leave Earl, don't show up an hour and a half late then on top of that start the game without honoring our country's colors. Having said that, and after a half inning of getting our gumption up, the Lunatics felt it was only appropriate to continue the contest if we took it upon ourselves to deliver a stirring rendition of The Star Spangled Banner, and by stirring i mean i had to stir a drink because we sounded terrible. I have a bit more sympathy for Rosanne now having tried to sing the anthem myself.
A quality win on Sunday was a fantastic way to bookend a great weekend. Here's to the fellas and the Catamount Roadshow that is going to take place over the next week. Until next time stay safe and we WILL see you at Fortress Cullowhee.
- Bob 3.10.15
Scheming and Dreaming
Well here we are. Friday the 13th at 4pm the Cats with Bats return to the field to defend Fortress Cullowhee. The two-time, back-to-back, defending champions of the Southern Conference open the season with a home series hosting the Purdue Boilermakers (whose namesake will be imbibed this weekend; they down them on the field, we down them on the hill (As always, Lunatic responsibly).
When we last left off with the Catamount baseball season, I was incoherently screaming at the No Clue Assbag Association selection committee on television after we copped a righteous snubbing for the second year in a row, and were left at home for the big dance. Well this year the Cats are not leaving that decision in the hands of the Nominally Corrupt Amateur Abusers. The Catamounts are going to threepeat the shit out of the regular season and then put things right by mollywhomping the SOCON field at the conference tourney and taking our automatic bid to the bank. The past 2 years the Not Competent About Anything club decided to bring in just about the entire SEC including multiple teams with losing records in conference while we have posted records of 39-20 (23-7) and 37-18 (20-6). Now we all know why the SEC gets multiple crappy undeserving teams in the field, because they bring out the fans and fans mean money.
Well let’s lay down the damn gauntlet and get some serious numbers out there this year to support the Cats with Bats on their trek to Omaha. The more people that show up to each game, home and away, the greater our chances of success this year. I can’t speak for the fellas on the team but I am pretty sure that they appreciate the support. We as a fan organization take pride in the home atmosphere at Fortress Cullowhee but we have let down the Catamounts with our away support. While we have attended the Clemson away game for the past 5 years (they expect it down there now) we have not put forth the requisite effort to show our support at other away games. We challenge everyone in Catamount nation to pick 1 game or one series this year to make the trek and go to an away game, bonus points if it is the conference tourney. Hell one of the founding Lunatics, Knoxcat, only missed 4 home games last year and he lives 2.5 hours away from Cullowhee. If he can make the 240 mile round trip 22 times last spring, I think at least some of the 4,000 students that live on campus here at Western could make the half mile walk to the stadium to get rowdy for some Catamount baseball.
While this squad has 2 preseason All-Americans in our infield duo of Bradley Strong and Jacob Hoyle, expect us to continue to churn out MLB draft picks because this team goes almost as hard in the paint as the Flacka that Wakas. In the past 4 years the Catamounts have had 1 then 2 then 3 and most recently 4 players selected in the MLB draft. For anyone else, that may be surprising, but for those of us who worship at the cathedral that is Hennon Stadium, I am surprised there hasn’t been more. Bobby Moranda, Alan Beck, and Bruce Johnson keep reloading the roster out here in Cullowhee every summer. Every year I wonder how certain production will be replaced only to find myself ringing the gong even harder.
The march to Omaha starts in Cullowhee on the 13th. It’ll be almost 4 months and 1002 miles but we are going Catamount Nation, and we are going to show out for the Cats with Bats every step of the way.
- Bob 2.10.15
A Sampling of 2014 Ramblings
As this weekend dawns on us I am filled with excitement and sadness. Excited because this will be the last time we have to see the crAppalachian yellow and black on our field. Sad because we have to see the crAppalachian yellow and black on our field one more time.
Let's be honest smacking up El Del is nice and all but goodness laying the lumber to the watauga frauds is just sweet. I hold grudges, I can't forget going out to those chumps last year in Greenville, but that just means when we maul these muppets this weekend it will feel that much sweeter.
The years have come and gone on this rivalry but one thing has stayed true. App sucks. Go ahead and jump in the vitamin D fashion accessory conference. That just makes the SOCON smell better. I can't wait to take that first breath of fresh crApp free air on Sunday afternoon.
I want this sweep badly but we can't sweep unless we start with one. I hope all Catamount Nation shows up this weekend to support the CatswithBats. I know where I will be and with good times and good weather, the land of the loonies should be rocking.
On a final note, we are well behind our expected donations at this point in the season as we attempt to break even for all the cost to keep the hill alive. We encourage everyone to stop by the hill and drop a buck in the bucket as we hope to pay off the Porta Jon, signage, website cost and of course food. A little bit goes along way.
Slapping da Bass
Molly Maid cleaning service, watch out because the boys of spring are getting damn good at sweeping and cleaning house, serving up another sweep to UNCA last night, 8 - 3. The Catamount Road Show lives on but is on standby as the Cats with Bats come back to Fortress Cullowhee to take on Furman this weekend for a three game conference series.
The weather looks just about picture perfect, the beer will be cold and our bats will be hot as several players come into this weekend with stellar performances, including Jacob "O" Hoyle "Rules", slapping two over the fence against UNCA to climb to number 10 on the season.
We certainly are a trendy team and the latest fad is to show the Southeast how baseball is played as we currently hold the nations longest winning streak at 11 games in a row. We are also number 7 in the nation for runs per game at 7.9, number 8 in the nation for homers (28), number 9 in the nation for home runs per game at 0.97 and number 11 in the nation for slugging percentage at .452. O and we are in first place in the conference, but lets not sit down and raise our glasses in excitement just yet.
A good number of games are left with 13 at home so we have alot of work to do with 18 more conference games on the season. We are currently 13 - 1 (f-ing ETSU) at home and look to continue our new streak of 5 at home this weekend. So bring out the sunscreen and beer to the hill because its gonna be a clinic in the Fortress this weekend. Does it make sense to say we are gonna go "Purple People Eaters" on Furman this weekend if we wear pruple too? O well.
Laying it on Thick, Starting ah New
Been a hot minute since we last dropped a blurb and we apologize for the delay, but we're back and running on all cylinders. The Cats with Bats have started two new streaks, one at home after the sweep of Awful Wofford (4 in a row at home) and the second with 9 wins in a row (overall) after serving UNCG another sweep at home (repeat of last year). As of Monday the 7th, the 9 wins in a row is currently ranked #3 in the nation, going for ten tomorrow, Tuesday the 8th against Presbyterian.
Pushing Wofford to the side, I want to focus on this past weekend against UNCG as all three games were close and both Jeremy Null and Jordan Smith came to play. Of course our breakdown wouldnt be legit without mentioning the Cats with Bats and the studastic performances by Jacob Hoyle and Dykota Spiess.
Going into the Friday game, UNCG was slated as the best hitting team in the conference (we were ranked 3rd) and the Spartans certainly gave Null a run for his money, but Null went 8 full innings and Tyler Powell came in for the save to close the door on the Spartans. We jumped to an early lead with Jacob Hoyle and Dykota Spiess putting the ball over the fence and fell apart during the btm of the 7th with a few fielding errors but Null held strong through the 8th inning, grabbing his 4th win of the season.
Saturday was a shootout to say the least but to keep it short and simple, Jacob Hoyle stepped up once again in the top of 10th inning by smacking the ball over the lip to give us a one run edge. Another stellar performance by Tyler Powell and Bryan Sammons to keep the hot bats of UNCG at bay for the win in extra innings.
Sunday was a baller performance for Jordan Smith, who moved into second in the rankings for most career starts at WCU. Not only is that impressive, but he went a complete game (4 of his career) for the win, with one run allowed as we scraped three runs to maintain the lead till the end.
Consider this, both last season and this current season to date we are 36 - 8 at home; 12 - 1 this season alone. We have 4 in a row at home after the Elon loss, which ended the 22 game winning streak at home. We play Tuesday in the Fortress and host Furman for a three game series Friday, provinding the potential to go 8 at home in a row and possibly 40 at home in the past 1.5 seasons. If those numbers dont tell you how hard it is to play in Fortress Cullowhee, then i dont know what will. Our presence is making a difference and we encourage yuo to invite your friends out to the hill to make the impact stronger.
Longest Home Winning Streak
in the Country
Rider learned the hard way what it means to play in Fortress Cullowhee, where the longest home winning streak in the nation resides. With 21 wins in a row at home, with the last loss going back all the way to April 13, 2013, we turn our attention toward East Tennessee State University this Wednesday at 5pm.
But let’s not forget our time in Georgia, where we lost 5 in a row and those close, tight margin games must have fired up the boys; that or they were pissed they were not sitting on a beach or lake somewhere with the other 8,500 plus WCU students on Spring Break. Either way they showed up this past weekend in true Cats with Bats fashion and wouldn’t ya know, old A Mart put on a damn clinic, showing those Jersey Boys what Southeast ball is all about.
Game one on Friday was close and perhaps too close for comfort as one error here or a slap out of park there by Rider would have ended the streak. Rider jumped on the board 1st with a 1 run 1st inning, but we slapped on 3 to take the lead before starting the 2nd inning. We went back and forth till we found ourselves behind by the 6th inning; 5 - 4. A Mart brought started the rally in the 8th inning and we posted 2 runs to grab back the lead, which we held to close the game at 6 - 5 (#19).
Game two was a one for the record books with a sickening and also sick nasty posting by both the Rider pitching staff and our Cats with Bats. The game was a shootout to say the least but definitely one sided and it really kicked off in the bottom of the 6th inning with a grand slam by A Mart (2nd bomb of the day); up 9 - 1 through 6 innings. The bottom of the eight was a record inning for the Cats with Bats with 14 runs posted! No mistyping here, 14 runs came across the plate, with 6 hit batters, 5 walks and of course some well-placed pokes. We finished the game with 23 runs to Rider's 8 (#20).
Game three was a formality as we jumped on the board early, 3 - 0 in the 1st inning and held the lead till the end with an 11 - 3 win to clinch #21 in a row at home.
We play ETSU this Wednesday at 5pm and with the students back in school, we hope the crowd grows from 5 people and 4 dogs to 40 plus students. Let’s bag #22 and turn our attention to conference play. Love, peace and chicken grease, P Funk out.
18 Strong, Runs and Wins. Nuff Said
Last team to take one off of us at Fortress Cullowhee....was those muppets. April 13, 2013 was the last time we lost at home and since then, well the rest is history as they say... 18 home wins in a row, which currently is the longest streak in the nation! If you dont believe we make a difference then call us out, meet us in person, or heck, come out to a damn game but dont forget to bring some earbuds to bring down the impactful volume and evidence coming from the hill. Randy gave us some props so props back on ya sir.
Revenge is a dish best served in front of 1,200 in the stands and another 120 on the hill. Oh yeah and a television audience!
Always nice to beat the Clemsucks tigers especially when it is broadcast regionally and nation wide. That was a righteous beatdown on a special evening. Adam Martin set the tone with a first pitch hambone over the left field fence in the 2nd inning. The CatswithBats took the lead at 2-1 and then just ran with it.
By the 5th inning we were up 18-4 and had chewed up the Tigers bullpen. 18 runs and only 1 dinger in the mix? Yeah I'd say we hit the ball pretty damn well. 38 runs scored in 2 games. That is some booha right there Catamount Nation.
We are only 10 games into the season and the Western Carolina Catamounts already have wins over SEC, PAC-12, and ACC competition. Although to be fair, last night wasn't competitive. The gong was rung, songs were sung, and Clemson played like dung.
Here's to hoping the CatamountRoadShow rolls deep the next 5 games before we welcome the fellas back to Fortress Cullowhee next weekend to go after wins 19-21 at home!
1st Sweep, Walkoff and 20 Run Game
Cats bag the 1st sweep of the season in a shootout Sunday, with a final of 20 - 10, yes that is correct, 20 runs. These three wins push us past South Carolina for the bragging rights of #1 Home Winning Streak in the Nation at 17 wins! And they say we dont have an influence on the game, ha!
The 1st game Friday night was a steady one with a 3 - 0 lead going into the top of the 8th, only to give it up to La Salle with a 4 run 8th. We answered back in true Cats with Bats fashion and posted another 3 runs with a blast by Jacob Hoyle to right field (bases were loaded), which brough in 3 more runs, putting us back in the lead 6 - 4 going into the top of the 9th. The rest was history and beer was poured. Game one of the series won, check.
The 2nd game was frustrating in that we feel behind 0 - 4 through 4.5 innings and answered with 3 runs to bring the score to 3 - 4 through 5 innings. We finally found our groove and added another 3 runs to the board in the bottom of the 7th, to take the lead 6 - 4. La Salle simply wouldnt go away and tacked on two runs to even the board, however good ole Adam Martin stepped up and delivered a game winning hit to short center to bring in the 7th and final run of the game. It was our 1st walk off win of the season and it sure felt good; more beer was poured and game two of the series won, check.
The 3rd game of the series was a texas styled shootout with a final of 20 - 10. We got up to a quick 5 - 0 lead the 1st inning and it was softened to a 6 - 1 through the 2nd ( We added one in the second inning). We answered with another 4 runs in the 3rd to make it 10 - 2. La Salle would not go quietly into the night as they added 6 runs in the 4th to make 10 - 8 and the back and forth would continue with a 6 run inning by Western in the 5th (La Salle added two), followed up by a 1 run 6th inning. We added the cherry to the Sunday Scoop with one more run in the 8th to make it 20 - 10.
We are getting prepped for Tuesday's game against #11 ranked Clemsucks and this is traditionally the largest crowd on the hill, so prepare and come early! ALL VEHICLES SHOULD PARK BEHIND THE OUTFIELD FENCE!!! 1st ptich at 4pm.
Win"throp" Flops in the Whee
You’ve ever been so jazzercised that you couldn’t read a scoreboard? Well I have. 8 runs or 10 runs when you shut out a team it doesn’t really matter how many you put up as long as you post 1.
Although, even without double digits I would still say the Winthrop Eagles got smacked up. The CatswithBats took a few innings to get into the zone but once they started to string some hits together the result wasn’t even in question.
Dykota Spiess was unlucky to have mother nature shooting him birds by knocking down what should’ve been the first homerun of the season in Fortress Cullowhee about 5 feet short of the exit. Bradley Strong and Cody Jones both put up 2 RBIs. Aaron Attaway, Spiess, and Reese Strong all got in on the action driving in a run apiece. Colton Davis started on the mound giving way to Bryan Sammons who ended up picking up his first win as Catamount just a few days after grabbing his first save. He must regularly beef with Maverick and Goose the way he rocked out as the Iceman on Friday night.
Anyway after kicking off the 2014 Fortress Cullowhee campaign in winning style the CatswithBats head west, WAY WEST, to take on Washington State in a 4 game series starting on Friday.
I can’t wait to tune in for the Catamountroadshow as we keep marching to Omaha!
Catamount Roadshow, Act 1
Six inches of Conneticut Confetti fell overnight into Thursday at Fortress Cullowhee and forced the boys of spring to roll down the mountain to play in Starksville, MS. Not phased by the change of schedule and long 7 hour drive, Jeremy Null and the Cats with Bats showed the SEC how SoCon ball is played. Mr Sit Em Up Shut Em Down, Nullzdozer, the Big Cheese, whatever you may call him, the mad sauce was delivered in style. Through eight innings he only faced 28 batters, striking out 12 of them and half of those were caught looking, making you question the pungency of the fromage that was being slung because if you cant even get a wiff, the cheese must be ripe.
The Cats with Bats picked up right where they left off last yrear, scoring early and putting the pressure on (2-0 in the 1st inning). Its also telling that the wining run was scored with two outs, giving a nod to the championship spirit the squad has embodied year in and year out. They put the pressure on early, not settling for bad pitches at the plate and thier patience paid off, getting two men on the board.
Fast forward to the 7th inning and Pre Season Player of the Year Arron Attaway, laced what will be his 1st of many extra base hits, with a double down the 1st base line. Fellow caption Cody Jones brought in what turnd out to be the winning run, with a single to right field.
On offense, big RBI's were delivered by Jacob Hoyle, Cody Jones and Luke Gragg, who himself posted a game's best 3-4 performance at the plate. Joining him in the multi hit club was Arron Attaway who went for 2-3 and scored two runs.
Congrats to Bryan Sammons for picking up the save in his Catamount debut.
Starting on the mound in game two is our other Socon Pre Season 1st teamer, Jordan Smith. Let's hope the Cats with Bats back him up and we game two and the series!
We'll be at Tucks tonight in Cullowhee for the game, 1st ptich at 5pm.
Thank you for the BP Samford
So Samford thought that they could pull out some lefty we have never seen and get us on the back foot. Well let us just say that was not the Wright call on the day. The bullfrog starter Eric Wright was definitely Wrong and took the loss yesterday for Samford. Nothing against the kid in general, the CatswithBats would've done work no matter who we were facing yesterday. Adam Martin started things off with a 3 run home run over the left field wall in the 1st inning to take a lead we would never relinquish. Tyler White put 2 more runs on the board with his 26th double of the year tying him with Rod Goldston in the the WCU record books for the most 2 baggers in a season. That was just a preview though as he also slayed 2 round trippers over the wall on the day. Not wanting the BombSquad to do work shorthanded, Aaron Attaway and Julian Ridings decided to put in back to back shifts at the smash factory and you know.....just crushed Samford's spirits along with the spirits of the now endangered Red Haired Two Seamed Baseball indigenous to the Southeastern United States. If we keep slugging these baseballs out of their natural habitat, and for the record we had 5 on the day....for the second time in a WEEK, we won't be able to find anymore of the now endangered species. Well you know what they say, the only thing better than hunting the Southeastern Red Haired Two Seam is going after the elusive Midwestern Red Haired Two Seam native to the areas in and around Omaha, Nebraska. We've still got plenty of work to do before we go on that expedition folks and becasue of that we need Catamount Nation to get behind the fellas. WE WANT TO GO TO OMAHA!
Champions go to Boone and Crush the Goons in Game 1
Ok, it is only game 1 so let's not get ahead of ourselves. BUT what a game 1! Big Jeremy Null gets another W, breaks 100Ks on the year, and nullifies the crAPPalachian batters. The CatswithBats truly turned it on last night showing stooopid power with 21 hits, 10 of which were for extra bases, 5 of which left the confines of the beaver dam arena (or whatever the hell they call that place). 5 home runs on the night, 61 on the year....numbers like that are the reason why the local populations of the red seamed baseball, indigenous to the SE United States, are becoming so hard to find. If they are not flying over fences they are hiding in the ump's pocket trying to avoid the same fate shared by 61 of their brothers. Those that tested the barrel and ended up in souvenir collections deserve our respect. But Appalachian certainly doesn't! Not from what I read on their complaint collection, excuse me...sports forum. I think they got mad when Jacob Hoyle sent a ball into low earth orbit in the 2nd inning, I think they are jealous that Tyler White went 4-6 with 2 bombs, they are jealous that Aaron Attaway added a jack of his own the same day he was named to the semifinalist list for the Dick Howser trophy, they are mad they don't have a player like Luke Gragg who can step up to the plate 6 times and get on base 6 times, they are embarrassed that they don't have grand slam gumbo to feed the team because Julian Ridings ate it up before blasting his GS. Never seen more sore losers asking for their pitching staff to plunk our guys just because they abused said staff. I want to end our last trip to the dump someone named Boone with a sweep. Now I know that is a hell of an ask but goodness gracious let's send those boys to the Vitamin D pantsdontfaldownassistance conference with another serious stomping. We can't sweep if we don't take game 2 so let us go ahead and knock that one out today fellas. Here's to Morgan McKinney having a monster start this evening and the CatswithBats backing him up to the fullest again. LETS GO WESTERN!
SoCon Champs!!!
Baseball Bob has been out of town, so I will step in to fill his enourmous creative shoes, the man is a wordsmith to say the least... It's ours, we own it, not shared, we earned it, we love it and we will climb to the top of Cullowhee Mtn and scream, WE ARE SOCON CHAMPS!!!
It's been too long since the boys of spring brought us another banner to hang (2007) and boy are we stoked about the way our team has been playing. We are on a tear to say it lightly with 14 SoCon wins in a row, 9 straight, 19-2 since April 6th, #3 in the nation for Home Runs and Home Runs per game, #4 in the nation for Doubles and Doubles per game (also Slugging %) and # 7 in the nation for hits; 24-7 at home. So yea, we have a few feathers in our cap when we say we can back up our "Cats with Bats" chant. But we dont just shine on the offensive side of the ball, we also are #11 in the nation for strikeouts per inning, # 7 in the nation for saves (P Hatch) and # 9 in the nation for strikeouts and strikouts per inning on an individual basis, Mr. Jeremy Null (only 150 ranked in the nation).
Ok, im a stat guy, so the above numbers excite the you know what out of me, but for those that want the other side of the coin, here we go...
We have swept the past 4 conference series and for those that remember last years end to the season, we all had to swallow some salt when Crap App took the regular season on our field. Add to that bitter taste, we had an opporunity to sweep the Boone Goons and send them packing to celebrate another day, but alas we did not. Fear not, as this year is the year of the Cat and we are rolling into Boone Town with the title hung high and a laser like focus on making it 5 sweeps in a row. Heads up you Benedict Arnold's, we'll send you to the Sun Belt with a reminder that SoCon baseball will never give way to the money grubbers that leave one of the oldest conferences around, just because they think their shit dont stink.
Im done ranting, but before i go, a few more stats to pad your arguement when you see someone hating on the Cats... We are now #14 in the Mid Major polling and #29 in the National Rankings. Can someone say Regionals?!?
^ P Funk 5.15.13 8am
Threepeat Sweepeat...
Threepeat Sweepeat, plus taking the Owls to the woosdshed, this week's blurb will focus on the UNCG Sweep and the recent Kennesaw St win. Here we go... The boys of spring are on a tear and we are loving every minute of this prime late season play, as they have won 14 out of the past 16 games played; keeping the steak alive of 11 wins in a row in the SoCon. Recent news that is worth mentioning is our own stud, Mr. Saves and Grades himself, Preston Hatcher (P Hatch), becoming the WCU all time Saves leader and for those who are not aware, P Hatch starting closing just last season!!! Congrats Preston and combined with the SoCon Student Athlete of the Week, were are proud to have you represent the Cats with Bats.
The UNCG sweep was the 3rd straight SoCon sweep this season, sending chills down the standings list, giving notice to all SoCon teams that this year we mean business. The 3rd game gave us 30 wins on the season; 1st team in SoCon to reach 30. We kept a few games close, but only due to sympathy as those poor spartans cant even buy a win, so we gave them some hope, only to blast bombers and deflate any notion of a win; Game 1... 7-3, Game 2... 10-7, and Game 3... 15-5.
Yesterday afternoon, Wednesday May 1st, we took the Catamount Road Show down to Kennesaw St and showed the Owls once again, that if they plan on joining the SoCon, they have to step up their game. We took the series (1st game April 23rd) with a 9-3 win, having 3 players bring in RBI's, two of them blasting bombs; Julian Ridings (8 on the yr) and Arron Attaway (10 on the yr).
We are slated to play Tenn Tech this weekend and they are not a shabby team, but lord knows they havent been down to Fortress Cullowhee; the home of opposing team broken dreams. Keep up the work boys and don't get distracted, as Ring Chasing is a dangerous game, where hearts are broken and legends made, in this Game of Rings we play, lol. 5.2.13 8:35am ^Pj
Stand em Up and Shut em Down...
Game 3: Sweepeat!! Catswithbats take down another SOCON series with 3 wins out of 3. That is 2 sweeps in a row now. 8 SOCON wins in a row, 7 consecutive wins in general, 7 consecutive wins in Fortress Cullowee. We have 7 players slugging over .400, 11 slugging over .300 (if the NCAA would update their stats i could confirm that we are leading the nation in doubles and are top 10 in HRs....i will get back with those numbers as soon as the Not Competent Athletic Administrators get off their butts and update a webpage) this team, with this pitching, and these bats backing them up, is looking scary folks...and we are loving every minute of it. No let up until July fellas we want to hang banners!!!!!!!!
Game 2: Keeping it tight throughout the game, the Cats with Bats held off GS to take away the win and lock up a series, 9-8. Loking for the sweep tomorrow possibly giving us a repeat sweep... swee"peat". Great numbers to day on the hill; 26 in attendance.
Game 1: 14! 14! I mean, we almost ran out of K's Mr. Nulldozer! Just a sick nasty, studtastic, in your face performance by Jeremy Null, with 14 strikeouts to give the Cats with Bats a 9 - 3 win Friday night over Georgia Southern (4//19). This marks the 6th SoCon win in a row and 5 at in a row at home. Looking for the series today! Also want to give a shout out to Baseball Bob, one of the LFL founders, who is attending a family wedding and could not be with us on the hill. I'll keep it short and sweet today and grow the blurb as we round out the weekend.
Swee"peat"!!!...
The wind was working against the ball all game, but the way Aaron Attaway hit that bomber in the 6th, it seemed as if there wasnt even a breeze, sending the ball into the nursery in a one hop fashion. This gave us the lead, 1 up on Kennesaw State, which we then doubled down in the 8th with a Tyler White double, to send a run home, making it 2 up on Kennesaw State. Rounded out the game with a 2 - 0 victory, blanking Kennesaw State and giving us our 1st shutout of the season. Next up is Clemsucks and we're rolling down the hill tomorrow afternoon to get rowdy down at Clemson, where 7 Left Field Loonies will go against 3,200 (avg statistic from Clemson) Clemsuck fans, showing everyone how pride and passion, outweigh numbers and home field advantage. This will be our 4th year going down to Clemson and every year is an amazing experience. We look forward to seeing everyone down at the game... HEY STEVE!!!
19-7 at Home, 15-6 in the SoCon, 8 wins in a row at home, 7 wins in a row in the SoCon
Double down on the Dogs due to a deliciously dubious drubbing
Alliteration aside did you guys see the home run festival last night? I didn't even know they CatswithBats had festy plans for Wednesday afternoon until I saw Julian Ridings blast another 1st inning jobber. After that I thought we may have a beast mode day on the cards by my goodness, the fellas crushed the ball. Julian got himself another one, Dakota Spiess got in on the action, and Adam Martin slugged a 3 run go ahead shot like it was a loonie drinking a malted wheat soda. I mean that thing went. Add the home runs to the other work Cats did at the plate and you have a recipe for wins, fence climbing, and victory showers. Coming into the game the WCU Catamounts were 2nd in the country in doubles with 92 and 7th in the country in home runs. Well the fellas tacked some more onto those stats so I can expect to see us climbing the ladder the same way the lunatics climb the fence. That's 4 in a row at home and in general, 5 straight conference wins, and we have another shot to pick up some SOCON victories with the visit of GSU this weekend. The CatswithBats are turning it on the second half of the season folks and I will tell you in all honesty I would not want to be a baseball in the southeast for the next couple weeks the way the Catamounts are blasting them around the field.
Walk-Off to Kick Off,
a Righteous Beat Down to Take it, and a Comfortable Win to Seal the Sweep!!!!
So, who didn't get to pad their stats this weekend. Friday night started off in wonderful fashion putting up a big lead on the Samford Bullfrogs before we let them get back into it just for our own amusement. You see walk-off wins in front of the home crowd are just fun so why not let them tie it up before we snatch the W from right in front of their faces. Walk-off thataway Attaway. Game 2 well lets just say wowsers. The Hennon Field beatdown of 2013 is what that will be referred to for the rest of the year. I mean I've seen us put up 22 runs but 21-7....in conference?!?! That was just plain fun to watch. And it set the table for the CatwithBats to grab their first series sweep of the season while at the same time send us up to a tie for 1st in the SOCON. Well with all that on the menu Jordan Smith and the Catamounts said I think I'll have another and after a little early trouble put Samford away to sweep 'em up and sweep 'em out. It was nice to pull the brooms out and it was really nice to see the Catamounts bring Hunter Brister around for the victory lap. Our thoughts go out to him due to his injury but it is nice to see the spirit and chemistry in the team bringing him out showing that everyone is contributing to this little run we've got going. Anyway what a weekend, we can't wait for Wednesday to have our 14th game against a bulldog opponent this year, and WE REALLY CAN'T WAIT for the next SOCON series against GSU this weekend in Cullowhee. Let's stay on fire fellas!!!
Boys from the Del got Angry,
Furderps got Spin "Cycled",
and we'll put it on Clemsucks when we Roll Down NC-107
It has been a bit and I apologize for that but it is hard to type when you are too busy yelling at garbage umping. The Citadel rolled into town with their atrocious fielding and even worse fan base. They got sat down right quick in the first two and the sweep really should've been on the cards but I'll take a conference series win any damn day. The CatswithBats split with UNCA at the midweek (we wont discuss the aggregate). Going down to Furman the fellas dropped game 1 but showed true character to stay in the pocket and win in the 9th inning in game 2 to set up the rubber match for the series. Well it went to the 12th, P-Hatch went 4 innings and got the win, and oh yeah Aaron Attaway hit for the cycle. Let's call it a classic smash-and-grab. We rolled in, we rolled them up, and we rolled out. WCU hosted the Clemsucks tigers at the mid week. After going down 9-3 the bats warmed up and John Jacob Jinkleheimer Schmidt got in the tigers heads. The cats tied it at 9 before dropping the game 12-9 in the 9th inning. Quite alright though as we will extract revenge on the 24th of April when Catamountnation and the Catamountroadshow roll down highway 107 and we set up shop on the left field fence for a victory lap. THAT IS OUR FIELD.
Game 1 in the Books, Wx a Factor...
The wind was dead and no help was available to send a ball over the fence, however the Cats with Bats didnt let that stop them, with Bradley Strong sending one over right (two run bomb) and Danny B. only three feet from a bomb, with a 0mph wind.
We never gave up the lead, even though it was close and for the seveth time this season we posted double digit strikeouts (14), needless to say we may need to print off more K's for the hill (a good problem to have).
Can you believe one Elon player turned around and flicked us off!?! Talk about adding gas to the fire, lol. Looking forward to giving these Elon fools another dose of Tailgate Therapy and hope to see you all out here was well. Game 2 at 2pm.
3.23.13 8am (PJ)
Taking the Series in Dramatic Fasion...
What a weekend! 1st time we have taken the series down in "Chucktown" and congrats to the Cats!!! We wrapped up game one of the series with a play at the plate to win the game, lose the 2nd game by only two and what a close one that was and then wrap up the show Sunday with a tight game throughout, only to watch College of Charleston unravel in the last few innnigs. Western brought in 6 runs in the top of 8th (Game 3), the 1st time CofC has let this happen this season. We ended the series with 37 hits, adding validity to our slogan, "Cats with Bats"! Game 1, 5 - 4 WCU. Game 2, 6 - 4 CofC. Game 3, 10 - 6 WCU. Of course the entire breakdown, play by play and stats can be found here... Link. We take on another SEC team this week, Tennessee at 6pm (away) and bring the show back to Cullowhee for a 3 Game Series against SoCon opponent Elon. Spring ball is in the air!!! GO Cats!
3.18.13 9am (PJ)
The Cats Rained on the Dogs...
for the 2nd year in a row,
we own in Athens!
For the second time in as many years, the WCU Catamounts went down to Athens, GA and romperstomped them SEC fellers. 15 hits, including T White's 4th round tripper of the season and multi -hit games from 5 different Catamounts, goes to show what kind of damage the CatswithBats can do on the road as well as at home in Fortress Cullowhee. Now that we have grabbed another major scalp the Cats look to start SOCON play down at Davidson this weekend. With a little bit of a streak starting, here is to hoping that the fellas go down to Charlotte and come back will all three wins to start off the conference schedule. Can't wait. Let's GO WESTERN!
Cats Drop the 1st to Hofstra, but crush the Twin Bill to take the Series.
Saturday, forget about it lets not talk about Saturday. Now Sunday, Sunday was a hell of a day to be on the hill. I'll talk about Sunday for the next 9 days until the CatswithBats come back home. 2 Jacob Hoyle crush jobs and add in an Aaron Attaway blast-o-rama and I like the stat sheet. No errors, solid pitching, and the Catamounts swinging the lumber like we know they can adds up to us being a hard team to take wins off of. Especially in Fortress Cullowhee. Now lets take the Catamount Road Show down to Athens and grab another one off the Bulldogs for the second year in a row. LETS GO WESTERN!!!
With the Trash in the rear-view the Cats Start a new Hot Streak
At least I hope that was the start to a winning run. Big ups to Taylor Sandefur for picking up the W in his first start back in almost 2 years. The Cats with Bats backing him up all the way. We had some doubles, some singles, a triple here and there. It felt good to climb the fence again and it will feel even better to climb it on Saturday after picking up 2 wins in the seasons only scheduled home double-header. We can't wait to welcome Hofstra to the Fortress and let them know the WCU Catamounts are a force to be reckoned with! You can't start a sweep if you don't win the first so lets go Western!!!
Catamounts take opening series 2-1
The Washington State Cougars came to Cullowhee February 15th to kick of the 2013 WCU Catamount Baseball season and boy did they get worked. Jeremy Null started off the weekend striking out 13 cougars in a 8-5 that also saw Tyler White go ham on a ball sending it into low earth orbit. The Cats with Bats came out in force to support Jordan Smith on Saturday sending WCU on our way to a 15-10 win to clinch the best of 3 series before falling 4-1 on the chilly Sunday finale.
Upcoming Games
Yellow=Home Game
*=Conference Game
Overall: 31 - 31
Conference: 15 - 9
Home: 13 - 9
Away: 12 - 18
Neutral: 6 - 4
SoCon Tourney Champs
2016 Regionals
(L) #4 WCU vs. #2 Clemson, 24 - 10
Friday June 3rd
(L) #4 WCU vs. #2 Clemson, 15 - 3
Sunday June 5th
Battle at the Beach
(L) Feb 19th, UNCW, 15 - 2
(L) Feb 20th, Richmond, 3 - 1
(L) Feb 21st, St. John's, 14 - 3
Feb 24th vs. UNCA, Postponed
(L) Feb 26, Louisiana-Monroe, 11 - 6
(W) Feb 27, Louisiana-Monroe, 15 - 7
(L) Feb 28, Louisiana-Monroe, 16 - 10
(W) Mar 2nd, Niagara, 17 - 4
(W) Mar 3rd, Niagara, 10 - 2
(L) Mar 4th, Georgia Tech, 5 - 4
(L) Mar 5th, Georgia Tech, 14 - 3
(L) Mar 6th, Georgia Tech, 4 - 3
(W) Mar 8th, Presbyterian, 10 - 9
(L) Mar 11th, Indiana, 3 - 2
(W) Mar 12th, Indiana, 4 - 1
(L) Mar 13th, Indiana, 9 - 1
(W) Mar 16th, Gardner-Webb, 16 - 4
(W) Mar 18th, Kansas State , 7 - 5
(W) Mar 19th, Kansas State, 6 - 2
(W) Mar 20nd, Kansas State, 10 - 2
(L) Mar 22nd, North Carolina, 10 - 2
(L) Mar 24th, ETSU*, 14 - 8
(W) Mar 25th, ETSU*, 12 - 11
(W) Mar 26th, ETSU*, 15 - 9
(L) Mar 30th, Clemson, 10 - 8
(W) Apr 1st, Wofford*, 9 - 1
(W) Apr 2nd, Wofford*, 14 - 4
(W) Apr 3rd, Wofford*, 12 - 3
(W) Apr 8th, VMI*, 7 - 1
(W) Apr 10th (DH), VMI*, 21 - 7
(W) Apr 10th (DH), VMI*, 14 - 11
(L) Apr 12th, Clemson, 7 - 6 (10)
(W) Apr 15th, Samford*, 10 - 5
(L) Apr 16th, Samford*, 13 - 7
(W) Apr 17th, Samford*, 6 - 5 (10)
(L) Apr 19th, UNCA, 8 - 0
(W) Apr 20th, Virginia Tech, 14 - 10
(L) Apr 22nd, The Citadel*, 2 - 1
(W) Apr 23rd, The Citadel*, 11 - 0
(L) Apr 24th, The Citadel*, 4 - 0
(L) Apr 27th, Gardner-Webb, 4 - 0
(W) Apr 29th, Mercer*, 9 - 7
(L) Apr 30th, Mercer*, 9 - 8 (10)
(L) May 1st, Mercer*, 9 - 2
(W) May 6th, Furman*, 11 - 4
(L) May 7th, Furman*, 9 - 8
(L) May 8th, Furman*, 10 - 4
(L) May 11th, Georgia, 6 - 0
(W) May 13th, UNCG*, 8 - 5
(W) May 14th, UNCG*, 19 - 8
(L) May 15th, UNCG*, 8 - 5
(L) May 17th, Cincinnati, 3 - 1
(L) May 19th, Kent State, 3 - 1
(L) May 20th, Kent State, 5 - 4
(L) May 21st, Kent State, 3 - 1
SoCon Tourney
(W) #2 WCU vs. #8 Wofford, 10 - 9
Wednesday May 25th
(W) #2 WCU vs. #6 Samford, 14 - 4
Thursday May 26th
(L) #2 WCU vs. #1 Mercer 9 - 8
Saturday May 28th
(W) #2 WCU vs. #6 Samford, 7 - 4
Saturday May 28th
Championship Games
(W) #2 WCU vs. #1 Mercer, 4 - 2
Sunday May 29th
(W) #2 WCU vs. #1 Mercer, 3 - 2
Sunday May 29th
