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BOILING SPRINGS – Senior Ryan Boelter tossed a career-high 8.0 shutout innings and Gardner-Webb collected nine hits to key a 4-0 win over Western Carolina Wednesday night.

It marked the first time since 2012 that Gardner-Webb (30-14) had reached the 30-win plateau – and the fastest the Runnin' Bulldogs have reached that mark since moving to NCAA Division I in 2001.

Boelter (3-0) cruised for the third time in three career starts – all within the last three weeks – scattering three hits, striking out seven and walking three against the Catamounts (21-19). The two teams engaged in a wild slugfest on March 16 in Cullowhee, with WCU taking a 16-14 win.

Since moving into the midweek starter's role at USC Upstate on April 13, Boelter has gone 2-0 with an 0.90 ERA in 20.0 innings pitched (three starts). The South St. Paul, Minn., lefty has seen his fastball velocity reach 90 mph with a slider that was effective once again on Wednesday night.

The win also marked the eighth shutout of the season for the Gardner-Webb pitching staff and moved the record this season at John Henry Moss Stadium/Bill Masters Field to a strong 27-5. GWU will play its next eight games away from home

Gardner-Webb went ahead for good in the first against the Catamounts, getting two-out singles from Collin Thacker and Danny Sullivan and a bases-loaded walk to Matt Simmons to go up 1-0.

Justin Kunz lofted a sacrifice fly to right for a 2-0 lead in the second inning – driving in Chandler Redmond – and Paul Trick homered to lead off the sixth for a 3-0 margin. Kunz followed with an RBI double in the sixth for what would be the final score of the game.

After Boelter was lifted with a career-high 109 pitches after the eighth, Andrew Massey worked through the ninth to seal the win.

Trick (2-for-4, HR, RBI) and Mason Fox (2-for-4, SB) paced Gardner-Webb's offense Wednesday, with Fox scoring on the Kunz double in the sixth after stealing second and racing to third when the throw down got away into shallow center field.

Trick's long ball in the sixth was his second of the season. Taylor Fisher (1-for-5), Kunz (1-for-4, 2B, 2 RBI), Thacker (1-for-4, run), Sullivan (1-for-4) and Patrick Graham (1-for-2, 2 BB) also had hits for Gardner-Webb.

Dylan Biumi (2-1) took the loss for Western Carolina, as five different men took the mound. The Catamounts had five hits, with five different batters collecting one each.

Gardner-Webb will get back into Big South Conference action on Friday, traveling to face defending Big South Conference champion Radford at 6:30 pm in Radford, Va.