CULLOWHEE, N.C. – Both offenses were rolling Thursday evening at Hennon Stadium, but the Wofford baseball team outlasted the Western Carolina Catamounts to the tune of a 9-6 win to open the series. The Terriers improve to 24-15 (3-7 SoCon) as the Catamounts fall to 17-20 (2-8 SoCon).
 
Terrier starter Cullen Condon (2-2) earned the win after allowing only three runs (one earned) in 5.0 innings. He surrendered five hits with two walks while striking out three. Michael Sills and Dylan Rhadans combined to hurl 2.0 frames of relief behind him before Carter Rasmussen (2) secured the save by locking down the final 2.0 innings. He did not give up a run with just two hits surrendered and no walks. The junior struck out three.
 
WCU starter Davis Wright (3-5) was tagged with the loss after giving up six runs on 12 hits in 5.1 innings of work.
 
Wofford outhit WCU 16-11 with those 16 base knocks matching Wofford's season high. Eight total Terriers recorded a hit with six of them owning multiple. The keystone tandem of Ryan Wynn and Tanner Hardin each collected three with Hardin's trio matching his career high. Niko Brini, James Layman, Tyler Bak, and Raul Feliz each notched two hits. Feliz recorded his first multi-hit effort as a Terrier. They all had an RBI except for Wynn, who scored three times, with Layman posting two RBI. David Wiley had an RBI with his one hit, and Hunter Herndon recorded two off the bench. Brini added a walk to reach base three times total.
 
A quarter of the Terrier hits went for extra bases with Brini, Wynn, and Feliz each clubbing doubles. Layman legged out a triple, and he added a stolen base.
 
The Catamounts struck first in the bottom of the first, plating a run with an RBI double after a walk. WCU led 1-0.
 
Wofford had a quick response with a three-run inning in the top of the second to take the lead. Ryan Wynn opened the frame with a double, and James Layman's single back up the middle pushed Wynn home to tie the contest. After a pair of outs, Layman swiped second, from where he'd score on Raul Feliz's double to the right center gap. Tanner Hardin's infield single put runners on the corners for Niko Brini, who delivered a single to shallow center that brought home Feliz for a 3-1 advantage.
 
In the bottom of the third, WCU took advantage of a pair of defensive miscues to pull level. A single was followed by an error to put two on, and they both advanced to scoring position with a sacrifice. Another fielding error enabled both runners to score, leveling the margin at 3-3.
 
Wofford reclaimed the lead in the top of the fifth with a pair of runs. After a flyout, Wynn singled and then scored when Layman found the left field corner, legging out an RBI triple. Bak then came through offensively, placing down a perfect squeeze bunt for a base hit, plating Layman to push the newfound edge to 5-3.
 
The Terriers tacked on another in the top of the sixth. Hardin singled and moved over to third when Brini doubled. David Wiley then smoked a single through the left side to push across Hardin, stretching the advantage to 6-3.
 
In the bottom of the sixth, WCU pushed back with a pair of runs. A bases-loaded walk was followed by a hit batter, bringing home two and shaving the score to 6-5, which is where Dylan Rhadans held it after catching the next batter looking for strike three to leave the bags loaded.
 
Wofford got a run back in the top of the seventh, manufacturing a run. Layman wore a pitch and advanced to second on a wild pitch. A groundout moved him to third, and he then scored on an errant throw after a grounder back to the pitcher. Wofford's lead was 7-5.
 
The Catamounts pulled back within a run after an RBI single in the bottom of the seventh, making the score 7-6.
 
In the top of the ninth, the Terriers tacked on a pair of insurance runs. With the bases loaded, Hunter Herndon lifted a sacrifice fly to push across a run, and a second run would come home on a fielding error by the first baseman. The Terriers went into the bottom of the frame looking to close out a 9-6 affair.
 
The Catamounts would not go quietly into the mountain night, getting two runners into scoring position and bringing the potential tying run to the plate with two outs. Carter Rasmussen clutched up on the mound, striking out the batter to seal the 9-6 triumph for the Terriers.
 
The squads square off again tomorrow with a special start time of 4:30 p.m. as the game will be simulcast on ESPN+ alongside airing regionally on The CW 62, presented by Ingles and Nexstar.