Catamounts to Play Two Games in the Fall

Western Carolina will play a pair of fall exhibition games in October as a part of its annual fall practice, traveling to Prasco Park just outside of Cincinnati, Ohio, to face the Ohio Bobcats Oct. 7 before visiting SEC-foe, Auburn, on Oct. 27. The games will not count towards the team’s allotted 56 games allowed in the 2019 regular season due to the rule changes announced by the NCAA last spring.

Prasco Park is located on the Mason, Ohio, campus of Prasco Laboratories, a privately-held, faith-based pharmaceutical company that is committed to global leadership in authorized generics and selected specialty brand pharmaceutical products. WCU has visited Prasco twice before, working out at the stadium and the adjacent Legacy Field. Like before, a part of the trip will include a day of community service.

Western Carolina and Ohio have only met on the baseball diamond for one series – a three-game set swept by the Catamounts in Cullowhee. WCU was set to host the Bobcats in the 2014 home-opening series, but a strong winter storm made travel from Ohio difficult, while also rendering the surface at Childress Field / Hennon Stadium unplayable. Instead, WCU traveled to second-ranked Mississippi State, winning the season-opener against the ranked foe, going 1-2 in the series with the Bulldogs.

WCU and Auburn have met 25 times on the baseball diamond in series history, but not since a 2004 three-game series held in Auburn, Ala. The Catamounts trail in the all-time series, 6-19, with the Tigers having won eight-straight. WCU’s last win in the series came on the road back in 1991.

Moranda and Auburn head coach Butch Thompson coached together this past summer at the USA Baseball 17U coaching staff. Auburn will also host fellow Southern Conference member, Samford, during the fall.

Western Carolina opens its fall practice as a team on Sept. 21 with the dates and details surrounding the annual Purple & Gold Fall College World Series to be released at a later date.