Photo by Catamount Athletics
Spring is coming, which means that WCU baseball is back.
The 2022 Catamounts baseball season is about to begin this week on Friday, Feb. 18 in Cullowhee against the Niagara Purple Eagles at 1 p.m.
The Catamounts are coming off last year where they posted a winning record and were one of the top four teams that appeared in the SoCon baseball tournament.
The Cats finished with a regular-season record of 28 wins and 21 losses, winning 14 and losing 11 against conference opponents like Wofford and Mercer.
According to assistant coach and batting coach, Andrew Cox, the squad’s biggest strength last year was their offensive production. The team scored more than 400 runs and had a team batting average over .300.
“It was extremely important,” Cox said. “The old saying is, ‘Pitching and defense wins championships.’ But you got to score to win. The way we look at it, our motto is ‘You can’t touch the plate enough.’ It doesn’t matter if you’re up by ten or down by ten. You want to score as much as you can.”
Last year’s offense was anchored by multiple players. One of those anchors was catcher, senior Luke Robinson. For the 2021 season, he posted a .345 batting average, had 52 runs batted in, and smacked 13 home runs, second-most on the team.
Next, there was outfielder, junior Justice Bigbie, who tied with Will Prater, an infielder, and designated hitter, for the team lead in batting average (.395). He also led the team with a .500 on-base percentage.
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Finally, there was their shortstop, freshman Pascanel Ferreras. He led the team with 16 home runs, 56 runs batted in, a .624% slugging percentage, and played in all 49 games last season. Plus, he did it all in his first year at WCU and will be here for his sophomore year.
The Catamounts entered the SoCon tournament as the lowest seed (No. 4). They performed well and got to the championship game. But the Catamounts were bested by the Samford Bulldogs, 8-6, coming up just short of winning the SoCon baseball tournament championship.
For the 2022 season, Western has lost players like Luke Robinson and Justice Bigbie, the latter being selected in the Major League Baseball Draft by the Detroit Tigers. But they also have old faces returning like Pascanel Ferreras and pitchers, Zebby Matthews, and Jacob Corn, who have been named team captains this year.
Western has also gained new players like a right-handed pitcher, freshman Paddy McGonigal, and catcher, freshman Brendan Burke. But Cox has made it clear that they will be as important as every other player on the team.
“That’s the beauty in coaching,” Cox said. “You try to bring the best out of people and put them in the best positions… to see the results that they want.”
Cox also states that this year’s squad is “1,000% sure” that they can be more than just offense. “Our pitching staff is definitely going to lead us this year,” Cox stated. “We’ve got some horses in the stables with real firepower… They’re ready to face somebody else because our pitching staff has been dominant in the pre-season inter-squads.”
With the 2022 season coming up soon, everyone on the team, according to Cox, is “extremely hungry” to win this team’s twenty-fourth So-Con Championship, the first since 2016. He also made it clear that they want to remove the bad taste in their mouth after losing last year.
“That’s what motivates us and drives us every day as we work,” Cox said. “We’ve got great leadership and great players. We’re ready to start chasing that championship.”
According to an article by Catamount Sports, Bobby Moranda, who is now in his 15th season as head coach, says that leadership will be a “major factor” towards helping the team make a run for the SoCon baseball championship.
Cox also says that left-handed pitcher, junior Eric Wallington, will start the first game of the season. The Catamounts’ first game will be at home in Cullowhee against the Niagara Purple Eagles on Friday, Feb. 18 at 1 p.m.
