Chattanooga 4, UAB 3
Chattanooga 2, UAB 1
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. - Sophomore pitcher Brooke Loudermilk (Locust Grove, Ga.) struck out 13 batters in the nightcap and junior third baseman Toni Hutchison (Madison, Tenn.) delivered the game-winning hit in the bottom of the seventh of the first game as Chattanooga (26-14, 6-0) swept the University of Alabama at Birmingham (18-23, 5-7 C-USA) 4-3 and 2-1 Wednesday evening at Jim Frost Stadium.
The Blazers got on the board early in Game 1 as a single, sacrifice bunt and an RBI single up the middle by junior catcher Andrea Rogers gave them a 1-0 lead in the first inning. Chattanooga responded in the bottom of the second inning as freshman catcher Katie Blevins (Soddy-Daisy, Tenn.) singled, advanced on a wild pitch and scored on a single down the right field line by freshman outfielder Lyndsey Stiles (Hixson, Tenn.) to tie the game at 1-1.
UTC's offensive attack continued as senior shortstop Tara Tembey (Folsom, Calif.) doubled down the right field line with runners on second and third to take a 3-1 lead. UAB then notched single runs in the two ensuing innings with senior second baseman Leigh Walker belting a solo home run in the third and sophomore third baseman Cameron Skates singled home a run in the fourth to tie the game at 3-3.
The score would stay that way over the next two and half innings as both team's pitchers settled in before freshman first baseman Michelle Fuzzard (Huntington Beach, Calif.) roped a two-out double to left field. Following a pinch runner, Toni Hutchison then lined a single up the middle to bring home the winning run and close out a 4-3 Chattanooga victory.
Freshman pitcher Kaitlin Holloway (Chickamauga, Ga.) pitched four scoreless, one-hit innings of relief and struck out five to get the victory and move to 3-1 on the season while junior Kayla Harris took the loss for UAB to fall to 8-8.
Tara Tembey led the way offensively for the Lady Mocs with a 2-for-4, two RBI performance and swiped her ninth base of the year, improving to 9-for-9 on the year, while Fuzzard finished at 2-for-4. In addition to Hutchison's game-winning RBI, Stiles went 1-for-2 with a run, RBI and her fourth steal of the year.
In Game 2, it was Chattanooga that got out in front early, taking advantage of a lead-off double by junior outfielder Laci Upchurch (Madison, Tenn.), a runner reaching on a fielder's choice and a run scoring error to take a 1-0 lead. With the bases loaded, freshman outfielder Lauren Flores (Fort Oglethorpe, Ga.) laced a single field to push the lead to 2-0.
That would be all that the Lady Mocs would need as Brooke Loudermilk pitched another magnificent game, allowing only three hits over the final five innings. One of those hits was a solo home run by Skates in the fourth inning to close to 2-1 but that would be all that the Blazers would get. Loudermilk then set down nine of the next ten batters she faced, five by strikeout, to lock up Chattanooga's 10th straight victory, 2-1.
Loudermilk finished the night with her tenth complete game and struck out 13 batters while allowing only four hits and the one earned run. Senior Jennifer Nelson suffered the loss to fall to 10-15 for the University of Alabama at Birmingham despite allowing only three hits and two runs over six innings.
Lauren Flores accounted for the lone UTC RBI as she went 1-for-2 while Upchurch finished at 1-for-3 with a run scored. Sophomore catcher Lynleigh Hurndon (McDonough, Ga.) added the only other hit as she finished 1-for-3.
Chattanooga resumes it's Southern Conference schedule this weekend when they travel to Appalachian State for a three-game series with the Mountaineers. The Lady Mocs will play a double-header on Saturday, April 5 beginning at 1:00 p.m. and will close the series with a 1:00 p.m. game on Sunday, April 6.
NOTES
With her two RBIs, Tara Tembey is now tied for fourth place on the Lady Mocs' all-time RBI list with 111 for her career ... Brooke Loudermilk's 13 strikeouts is the 17th double-digit strikeout performance of her career and is the sixth this season ... Chattanooga has now won 10 consecutive games and is 16-4 at home in 2008.
College of Charleston 10, Coastal Carolina 9
College of Charleston 9, Coastal Carolina 2
Conway, S.C. -- Home runs by Katie Nutaitis and Terri Mesko led the Cougars softball team to sweep Coastal Carolina in a doubleheader 10-9 in game one and 9-2 in the night cap, Wednesday night at CCU Softball Field.
The Cougars record improves to 21-23 overall and 5-1 in the Southern Conference. The Lady Chanticleers fall to 14-23.
Charleston scored 10 runs on as many hits en route to its 10-9 victory over Coastal in game one. After ending the first inning down 2-0, Nutaitis ripped a 260-feet bomb to left field. The solo homer sparked a six-run rally as CofC cycled through the line-up. Mesko, Tiffany Harmon, Christal Kotchman, Linzi Bereitschaft and Shannon Howard scored the balance of the runs to put the Cougars up 6-2.
After the defense held the Chants scoreless in the bottom of the second, Kotchman and Mesko scored on a CCU error to put two more runs on the board for the Cougars. With one out in the fourth, Nutaitis hit her second home run of the game. The freshman who was named Southern Conference softball Player of the Week for Monday, March 31, is the only Cougar to hit two homers in one contest this season. She is tied for the team's top spot with four homers.
Harmon scored Charleston's final run in the top of the seventh. Howard reached on a fielders' choice to advance Harmon and Kristi Woodall. Harmon's run came on a wild pitch. The Lady Chants forged a comeback with four runs in the bottom of the seventh, but the Cougar defense stopped them one run short.
Howard (11-9) pitched through 6.2 innings striking out four batters and allowing eight hits.
Freshman Alexa Datko pitched her first complete game striking out seven batters in the last game of the evening. The Cougars opened the scoring in the first inning in their 9-2 victory in game two. Howard reached on a fielder's choice to bat in a run by Harmon. Mesko added the second CofC run in the game with a solo shot to left-center. The homerun was the first of the season for the sophomore McDonough, Ga., native.
Charleston went on a seven-run rally sparked by a run by Harmon who scored on a Coastal error. The remainder of the Cougar runs were scored by Woodall, Alex Williams, Samantha Kubinski, Brittany Small, Mesko, Datko and Kotchman on Chant. The majority of the scoring opportunities came on singles and Coastal errors.
Harmon, a junior, led the offense on the evening. The Lynn Haven, Fla., native went 4-for-8 (.500) from the plate. She scored four runs and had one RBI. Howard batted in six runs and went 3-for-9.
Charleston returns to SoCon action April 4 and 5 when they host Furman at Patriots Point in Mt. Pleasant, S.C. Game one begins of the day one doubleheader starts at 1. First pitch of the series finale will be thrown at 1 p.m. on Sunday.