Cullowhee, N.C. – First Baseman Tate Stewman belted three home runs to power Western Carolina to an 11-7, 7-4 doubleheader sweep of Furman on the opening day of Southern Conference play Saturday afternoon at the Catamount Softball Complex.
 
Game 1: Western Carolina 11, Furman 7
 
Stewman hammered two home runs in the opening game of the day to key a 10-hit attack as the Catamounts outslugged Furman, 11-7. After Rachel Hawkins' solo clout put Furman in front in the second inning, the Catamounts answered with three runs in the bottom of the frame. Stewman started the rally with a leadoff homer and Kayden Lyda followed a one-out walk with a two-run blast off Paladin starter Lili O'Bryan to put Western Carolina in front.
 
Katie Peeler's RBI double helped Furman trim the deficit to 3-2, but the Catamounts plated three more runs in the bottom of the fourth with the help of three bases on balls and a pair of Paladin errors. Christina McCoy homered to straightaway center field in the top of the fifth and AB Cipalla knocked in a run to cut the Catamount advantage back to 6-4. Western Carolina, however, kept its foot on the gas with five runs in the bottom of the fifth.  A double and two walks set the table ahead of Maya McPherson's RBI single and Stewman followed with a grand slam to extend the WCU lead to 11-4.
 
Furman scored three runs in the sixth after loading the bases with nobody out. In the seventh, Riley Pennington came on to pitch for the Catamounts. After allowing a single and a walk, she was lifted as Amanda Fulton returned to the circle to retire the next three batters to seal the victory.
 
Fulton improved to 8-3 despite allowing seven runs on 10 hits over seven innings of work. Stewman finished 2-for-4 with two homers and five RBI to lead the Catamount offense.
 
O'Bryan (1-6) suffered the loss allowing 11 runs on 10 hits and nine walks over six innings. Hawkins, Peeler, and Sylvia Burroughs each registered two hits in the loss.
 
Game 2: Western Carolina 7, Furman 4
 
In game two, Western Carolina exploded for seven runs in the bottom of the second inning and held off a late Furman rally to claim a 7-4 victory and the doubleheader sweep.
 
Stewman opened the second-inning outburst with a leadoff homer, Lily Bell added an RBI triple, and Sydney Dirks drove in two runs to highlight the decisive frame. Furman answered with a three-spot in the top of the sixth. Kristyn Embler and Meghan Shirey got Furman on the board with doubles and Burroughs laced a bases-loaded single to score two more runs. 
 
In the top of the seventh, Western Carolina's AG Batson worked around a two-homer homer from Christina McCoy to secure the victory. Batson gave up four runs on seven hits and seven walks in the complete-game performance to up her record to 8-1.
 
Bell reached base three times for the Catamounts while six players drove in runs.
 
Embler (4-8) absorbed the loss for the Paladins after allowing seven runs on eight hits in two innings. Jamison Noonan provided a bright spot for Furman with four scoreless innings of relief. Burroughs went 2-for-3 with two runs batted in.
 
Furman (5-24, 0-2 SoCon) and Western Carolina (18-9, 2-0 SoCon) conclude the three-game series with a single game on Sunday at 1:30 p.m.
 
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