Chattanooga 7, Georgia Southern 4

Chattanooga 5, Georgia Southern 3

CHATTTANOOGA, Tenn. - The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga softball team swept Georgia Southern, 7-4 and 5-3, in front of a lively crowd of 463 on senior day at Jim Frost Stadium to clinch the team's 13th regular season SoCon championship. It the first time that the six seniors, locked up the regular season championship on thier home field. The Lady Mocs accepted clothing donations benefitting the American Red Cross at the gates for people that were affected by the severe storms that went through the Scenic City on April 27.

 

In the first game of the day, senior third baseman Tiffany Baker broke the school's single-season home run record with her 15th home run in the fourth inning. She broke a tie with former Lady Moc Angela Brewer (2001) and the 14 that she hit last year.

 

The two wins improve Chattanooga to 35-12 overall and 17-3 in the Southern Conference. With both loses, the Eagles fall to 28-27 on the season and 16-7 in the league. 

 

For the day, junior shortstop Jessica Traxler and sophomore second baseman Sara Poteat led the team with four hits each as they both recorded multi-hit games. Baker and Traxler led the team with four RBIs each, while junior designated player Michelle Fuzzard drove in three.

 

On the base paths, senior outfielder Lyndsey Stiles stole her 31st base of the year to tie the record for most in a season. The steal also moved her within 10 of tying former Lady Moc Jeannie Cochran for the school's record of 94.

 

In the circle, all three pitchers saw action with seniorsNikki Waters and Kandice Irwin each picking up a win. Fuzzard stuck out three of the six batters she faced in game two to close out her first game of the season and second of her career.

 

The Lady Mocs finish the regular season in Cullowhee, N.C. with a series against Western Carolina May 7-8. The team will then start postseason play at the SoCon championship tournament that will take place May 11-14 in Statesboro, Ga.

 

Game One: CHATTANOOGA 7, Georgia Southern 4

Baker led the team with three hits in the game to go along with four runs batted in as the Lady Mocs picked up a 7-4 victory over the Eagles. Traxler and Poteat both record a multi-hit game with two hits apiece.

 

In the circle, Waters pitched a complete game to pick up the win that improved her record to 9-3. Waters struck out six batters, while surrendering six hits and four earned runs.

 

The Eagles scored the first run of the game in the top of the first with a home run over the left field fence from Hanna Ennis.

 

A walk by Stiles started the bottom of the third and she advanced to second when Poteat beat out a sacrifice bunt for a hit.

 

Chattanooga tied the game when Fuzzard singled up the middle to bring Stiles home. Poteat beat the throw to third that also allowed Fuzzard to move to second.

 

Baker gave the Lady Mocs the lead with a single down the left field line that plated one run. With a single up the middle, junior catcher Vivian Morimoto brought home freshman Layne Rainey who pinch ran for Fuzzard increasing the lead to 3-1.

 

After brining in Megen Smith to relieve Brianna Streetmon, Smith hit sophomore first baseman Kasey Tydingco to load the bases. A single to right by Traxler gave Chattanooga a three-run advantage.

 

The bottom of the fourth frame started with Stiles beating out a ground ball to the second baseman for an infield single. Poteat followed by beating out her second sacrifice bunt attempt for a hit.

 

Baker tied the school's single-season RBI record of 55 with a three-run shot that landed a few rows short of where her home run from yesterday landed. The blast gave the Lady Mocs a 7-1 lead.

 

The fifth inning saw Stiles tie the record for most stolen bases in a season.

 

A three-run home run by Marie Fogle in the seventh cut the lead to three. That was as close as the Eagles would get in the comeback attempt. Waters got Ennis to fly out to center field to end the game.

 

Streetmon started for Georgia Southern, lasting two innings while giving up six hits and four earned runs. Smith pitched the final four frames and surrendered five hits, three earned runs and struck out three.

 

At the plate, Kelly Burnett led the team with two hits. Fogle and Ennis both hit home runs and drove in three and one run, respectively.

 

Game Two: CHATTANOOOGA 5, Georgia Southern 3

Irwin started her third game of the year going five innings and facing one batter in the sixth to pick up the win. She struck out five and gave up nine hits and three earned runs in improving her record to 10-3 on the year.

 

In relief, Fuzzard pitched the final two innings to pick up the save. She struck out three batters and did not give up a hit.

 

Georgia Southern threatened in the top of the fourth that began with Kayla Brooks getting an infield single off a bunt back to the pitcher and advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt. Andrea Tarashuk's single was fielded by Stiles, who gunned it to the plate to throw out the runner by a mile.

 

In the bottom of the frame, Chattanooga broke up the scoreless game. Tydingco was hit by a pitch to leadoff and advanced to second on a single down the right field line from senior right fielder Della Harrison. Traxler followed with her fourth home run of the year over the left center field fence to plate three runs.

 

Later in the frame, Poteat singled down the third base line. Fuzzard drove the very next pitch over the right center field fence to give the Lady Mocs a 5-0 lead.

 

The home run was Fuzzard's 11th on the year and 24th in her career tying for fourth in the school's record book. She also increased her RBI total to 54, which is the third most in a single season and one behind teammate Baker for the team lead.

 

The top of the fifth began with pinch hitter Tabby Douberley singling down the left field line. Jorie Walker re-entered the game in place of Douberley and stole second.

 

Fogle singled up the middle to score one run and advanced to second on the throw home. After a fly out, Smith got an infield single and advanced to second on a throwing error to first base. The error also allowed another run to score to cut Chattanooga's advantage to 5-2.

The next inning, Burnett hit a shot over the left center field fence to cut the Lady Mocs lead to two, 5-3.

 

Burnett and Tarashuck led Georgia Southern with two hits apiece at the plate.

 

In the circle for the Eagles, Allie Miles began the game going 3.2 innings, while striking out a batter and giving up five earned runs on seven hits. Streetmon threw the final 2.1 innings while striking out a batter and surrendering two hits.

 

UNCG 3, Samford 2

GREENSBORO, N.C. – Alex Emeterio hit a towering home run to dead center in the bottom of the sixth inning to snap a 2-all tie and Eileen Horsmon had a two-run blast as UNCG completed a three-game sweep of Samford with a 3-2 win on Sunday.

 

The victory sent seniors Kaitlin Merkt, Kayla Hensley, April Langley, Katie Stripling and Kristen Gabel out winners on Senior Day.

 

After Samford (11-37, 7-14 Southern Conference) tied the contest with pair of runs in the top half of the sixth, Emeterio put UNCG (24-27, 10-11 SoCon) back on top for good with a no-doubter to straightaway center with two outs. The homer was her first of the season.

 

UNCG starter Cory Mattson and Samford starter Nicole Bobrowski were locked in a pitchers’ duel for much of the game. Bobrowski retired 12 straight Spartans after allowing Langley’s leadoff single in the first, while Mattson put down 12 straight after a two-out double by Robyn Harmon in the first. Mattson didn’t allow another hit until Arica Dykes’ leadoff single in the sixth.

 

The Spartans finally got to Bobrowski in the fifth, with Jordan Jewett lacing a single up the middle to get things going. After a fielder’s choice erased her at second, Horsmon sent the first pitch she saw from Bobrowski out to center for the 2-0 lead.

 

The Bulldogs got both runs back the following inning. Dykes’ single and a Brianna Chambers walk put runners on first and second with one out, and Harmon followed with an RBI single to knock Mattson from the game. Reliever Raeanne Hanks got an Amanda Jordan groundout for the second out, but Chambers was able to score on the play to knot things at 2. After a Bobrowski walk, Hanks struck out Lakan Smith looking to prevent further damage.

 

After Emeterio’s homer put UNCG back on top, Hanks nailed down the win with a 1-2-3 seventh inning, striking out Dykes to end the game.

 

Hanks (7-3) picked up the win with 1 2/3 innings of hitless relief, while Mattson took the no-decision after being charged with two runs on three hits in 5 1/3 innings.

 

Bobrowski (2-10) took the loss, allowing three runs on four hits in six innings.

 

Langley, Emeterio, Jewett and Horsmon had UNCG’s four hits on the day, while Harmon was 2-for-3 to lead the Bulldogs.

 

The three-game sweep was UNCG’s first of the season and first since taking three straight from Furman on May 3-4, 2008.

 

UNCG returns to action next weekend when it completes the regular season at Elon with a three-game set on Saturday and Sunday.

 

College of Charleston 3, Western Carolina 2

MT. PLEASANT, S.C. - Sophomore outfielder Kristy Giragosian hit an RBI single to pull off the suicide squeeze play and send the College of Charleston softball team to a 3-2 walk-off victory over Western Carolina for the weekend series sweep on Sunday afternoon at Patriots Point.

 

Both teams went scoreless through five innings, prior to the Catamounts' (18-31, 3-18) two-run surge in the top of the sixth increasing the pressure on the Cougars (32-17, 11-9) to respond.

 

With the bases loaded, sophomore pitcher Stephanie Saylors came in relief of senior pitcher Alexa Datko, who had struck out 11 batters in 5.1 successful innings of work in the circle, including five consecutive strikeouts to start the game.

 

Similar to a two-out situation a day prior against the Catamounts, CofC responded in the clutch as freshman shortstop Lizzy Vaughn knocked an RBI single up the middle to bring home freshman outfielder Carly Corthell, who reached first and second on an error and wild pitch by WCU pitcher Katie King to make it 2-1 Catamounts.

 

Saylors threw two strikeouts and a ground out to third to get CofC out of the top of the seventh safely without a WCU score. Freshman third baseman Kelsey Hodgson led off the seventh with a double to set-up the come-from-behind rally by the Cougars. Hodgson was replaced by pinch runner Ashton Jarrett who was driven home by a Giragosian single to left field to tie things up at 2-2 and send the game into extra innings.

 

"All we talked about was executing," said CofC head coach Shelly Hoerner on the strategy behind the final-inning rally by the Cougars. "We obviously didn't play well today, but we will take this win. We never gave up. They scored their two runs and we were able to come back. Carly (Corthell) got on and Lizzy (Vaughn) scored her. Getting one run back right away in the bottom of the seventh helped us tie it up and give us the momentum."

 

After two scoreless innings in the eighth and ninth, the 10-inning rule came into effect (placing a runner at second base to start off each of the extra innings played after nine). WCU wasn't able to capitalize as the CofC defense held off the go-ahead run at second.

The Cougars used a suicide squeeze play with one out in the bottom of the 10th and senior centerfielder Kristi Woodall, who was the last batter in the previous inning, advancing to third on a sacrifice bunt by pinch hitter Amanda Lonergan, who was tagged out at first to set-up the game-winning RBI by Giragosian at the next at bat.

 

"(Western Carolina's) Katie King pitched really well against us both days and we were trying to get the ball in play," Hoerner said. "Stephanie (Saylors) came in and did her job and we played good defense in the top of the 10th inning. I'm not a person to call squeeze bunts, but went with my gut. I knew a good pitch was coming and she (Giragosian) executed. It was a huge victory for us."

 

It marked CofC's longest game this season and first since playing 11-innings versus Furman a year ago on May 2, 2010 at Patriots Point. Saylors claimed the win and improved to 12-8 on the season. She allowed only two hits with two strikeouts in 4.2 innings of work in the circle.

 

The weekend victories put the Cougars back over .500 in Southern Conference play and in the top half of the standings having won nine of their last 11.

 

"We were kind of rusty this weekend, but it is nice to back over .500 in conference," Hoerner said. "We took the last 10 days off with Easter and to focus on final exams. We didn't play our best ball, but I give my team a lot of credit for their efforts this weekend."

 

The Cougars recorded their 20th-win at home this season and will close out their SoCon regular-season slate with a three-game road series at Samford (11-37, 7-14 SoCon) on May 5-6 at Bulldog Field in Birmingham, Ala. Thursday's doubleheader will begin at 5 p.m. (ET), while Friday's first pitch is set for 3 p.m. (ET).