WCU’s Ketterman Repeats as SoCon Baseball Player of the Week

Western Carolina senior infielder Zach Ketterman today repeated as the Southern Conference’s Player of the Week for games April 15-21. Ketterman hit .571 on the week with a pair of three-run home runs as a part of collecting eight RBI to pace the Catamounts.

Selected and announced by the  SoCon office from nominations submitted by the communications or media relations personnel at each institution, Ketterman collects WCU’s fourth weekly honor from the league office this season. Classmates in outfielder Nate Stocum and Jonathan Todd swept the weekly plaudits back on March 18. The honor is also the third weekly award for Ketterman in his collegiate career, also honored as a sophomore back in 2022.

It’s the second time in as many years that a Catamount infielder has earned plaudits in consecutive weeks as former WCU shortstop Pascanel Ferreras collected Player of the Week accolades in back-to-back weeks on May 2 and May 9 a season ago.

Ketterman led Western Carolina offensively on the week as the Catamounts went 2-2 with a midweek win over Sun Belt Conference foe and former SoCon rival Appalachian State, and dropping the SoCon series to league-leading Samford with a 10-run victory and two losses by a combined three runs

A senior from Biglerville, Pa., Ketterman batted .571 (8-of-14) on the week with three multi-hit games that included two home runs to boast a 1.000 slugging percentage. Scoring four times, he drove in eight runs with a pair of multi-RBI efforts. Ketterman added four walks to bolster his .667 on-base percentage, adding three stolen bases on the week.

Ketterman opened his award-winning week by reaching base four times in a 3-for-3 effort with a walk in the midweek win over Appalachian State. On Friday, he opened the series against league-leading Samford by going 2-for-4 with a three-run home run. He belted his second three-run homer in game one of Saturday’s league doubleheader with the Bulldogs, finishing 2-for-3 with a pair of walks to reach base four times in the run-ruled 12-2 win in seven innings. He closed the series with a 1-for-4 effort with a walk narrow, one-run defeat.

Defensively on the week, the slick-fielding second baseman played error-free over the four games, collecting 12 putouts and 10 fielding assists where he was a part of turning five of WCU’s seven double-plays.

Ketterman is amidst an 11-game active hitting streak that includes eight multi-hit efforts and multiple RBI six times. During his current tear, he has recorded 21 of his seasonal 34 RBI and 12 of his 15 seasonal extra-base hits. He has raised his seasonal batting average by nearly 100 points during his current run, entering the week with a WCU-leading .357 average to rank tied for 15th in the SoCon’s individual rankings. His eight seasonal homers are now tied for 14th among the league’s leaders with his 34 seasonal RBI putting him 20th in the conference.

Western Carolina (21-16, 6-6 SoCon) plays its next four games away from home, traveling to Knoxville on Tuesday (April 23) for a 6 p.m. matchup with the No. 3 Tennessee Volunteers (33-7) at Lindsey Nelson Stadium. The game will be broadcast on the SEC Network+ (paid subscription required), and available through the Watch ESPN app with live stats online at CatamountSports.com.

The Catamounts return to SoCon action next weekend, traveling to Spartanburg, S.C., for a three-game series against Wofford (26-11, 7-4 SoCon). The Terriers split two games with Mercer over the weekend with the finale rained out in Macon, Ga. That series will be broadcast on ESPN+ (paid subscription required) with live stats available online at CatamountSports.com.

Keep track of everything related to WCU Athletics and Catamount baseball including any game day schedule changes through our social media outlets on Facebook (fb.com/CatamountSports), Twitter (@Catamounts, @CatamountBSB), and Instagram (wcu_catamounts, catamountbsb).  Western Carolina – 2024 SoCon Weekly Awards:Nate Stocum – Player of the Week (March 18)Jonathan Todd – Pitcher of the Week (March 18)Zach Ketterman – Player of the Week (April 15)

Zach Ketterman – Player of the Week (April 22)