WCU sweeps Wright State; Hawk records first victory

Western Carolina completed a three-game series sweep Sunday with a 13-3 win over Wright State at Hennon Stadium/Childress Field.

Todd Buchanan was three of four with a home run. Jimmy Cochran, Todd Roper, Chris Davis, Alan Beck and Brian Sigmon all had two hits.

The Catamounts (4-5) scored three runs in the bottom of the first. Roper led off with a double, and Buchanan and Rod Goldston singled in the frame.

Cochran doubled in two runs in the third making it 5-0. Davis and Alan Beck had RBI singles in a three-run fourth for an 8-0 margin. Kirk Seddon's solo homer put Wright State on the board in the fifth.

Buchanan's RBI single helped build the lead to 10-1 in the bottom of the fifth.

Cochran tripled and scored on Sigmon's double in the sixth. Another run scored on an error for a 12-1 lead.

Matt Barhorst's two-run single cut the gap to 12-3 in the seventh.

The Cats capped the scoring in the bottom of the seventh with Buchanan's fourth homer of the season.

Seth Foster (1-2) was the winning pitcher. He gave up seven hits and one run in five complete innings with no walks and no strikeouts.

Chris Tuttle, Trent Matthews, Barhorst, Seddon and Adam Morton all had two hits for the Raiders.

Matt Crawford was the losing pitcher.

After giving up three runs in the top of the ninth to fall behind, Western answered with three runs of its own in the bottom half to hand Wright State a 7-6 loss in game one of Saturday's doubleheader.

A two-run triple by Matthews was the big blow in the Raider ninth, and Bryan Vickers added an RBI single.

In the bottom half of the ninth, Wayne Kilmer doubled and scored on Goldston's single. Beck then belted a two-run homer into a steady wind to give WCU the win.

The rally made a winner of former Smoky Mountain standout Derrick Hawk (1-0), who recorded the final two outs in the top of the ninth. It was the first career victory for Hawk as a Cat following his transfer from Spartanburg Methodist, a junior college.

Each of the game's first four runs were unearned. The Cats took a 1-0 edge in the first, but Wright State tied it in the third.

An RBI single by Goldston, and Buchanan's run-scoring double helped Western score three times in the third for a 4-1 lead.

The Raiders cut the gap to 4-3 in the sixth. Seddon had an RBI single, and Ty Brown walked with the bases loaded.

J.P. Jung was the losing pitcher in relief.

Goldston, Kilmer and Brandon McDowell all had two hits for the Cats.

Vickers paced the Raider offense by going three of five, and Matthews was two of four.

Buchanan blasted a pair of homers leading the Cats to a 6-1 win in Saturday's doubleheader, a seven-inning game.

A single by Matthews was the only hit as the Raiders took a 1-0 edge in the first.

Buchanan doubled and scored in the second, and the Cats went up 2-1 in the third on Goldston's double.

Buchanan homered in the fourth, and Western extended its lead to 4-1 in the fifth as Roper had a bunt single and eventually scored on a passed ball.

Buchanan hit his second homer in the sixth, and the final run scored on an error.

Brad Josey (1-0) pitched the first five innings for the win.

Wright State starter Aaron Braden took the loss.

Buchanan had a perfect day at the plate with there hits in three at-bats.

Last week's game at Tennessee Tech was rained out and reset for Wednesday at 4 p.m. Results were not known at Herald press time.

Liberty will visit WCU for a doubleheader at noon Saturday and a single game at 2 p.m. Sunday. A home game with UNC-Asheville is slated for Wednesday, March 5, at 3 p.m.

Back to Sports: 02/27/03.