Western Carolina University’s baseball team opened a three-game road series with the University of Mobile with a dominant 23-5 victory Friday night at Mike Jacobs Field.
Mobile scored a run in the bottom of the first inning, but the Crusaders responded quickly. Tyler Ducksworth hit a solo home run in the second, sparking a six-run frame. DeeJay Booth drew a bases-loaded walk, and Hays Carley added a two-run single. Jayden Mark capped the inning with a two-run triple, giving WCU a 6-1 lead.
The Crusaders continued their offensive assault in the third inning. Carey contributed two runs on a bases-loaded walk, and Booth drove in another with an RBI fielder’s choice. WCU expanded its lead to 10-1 in the fourth, with RBI singles from Franklin Hernandez and Alan McClean.
The team was held scoreless in the fifth but broke the game open in the sixth. Six hits and a seven-run outburst gave WCU a 17-1 lead. Gage Hinnant, Booth, and Jayden Mark each contributed RBIs, and Ducksworth added an RBI groundout.
Carey added more fireworks in the seventh with a three-run home run, followed by Hernandez’s three-run blast as part of a six-run frame. Mobile scored four runs in the bottom of the inning but left the bases loaded on a groundout to end the threat.
Matthew Davis earned the win, pitching six innings and allowing one run on six hits with four strikeouts. Offensively, the Crusaders totaled 23 runs on 18 hits, with seven players recording multiple RBIs. WCU will finish the series with a doubleheader Saturday starting at 1 p.m.
