Wichita State vs. Chattanooga Boxscore
Kentucky vs. Chattanooga Boxscore
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. - Freshman right fielder Lauren Flores (Fort Oglethorpe, Ga.) belted a walk-off grand slam deep to left field in the bottom of the 10th inning to lead Chattanooga (2-2) to a 9-6 victory over Kentucky (2-2) in the nightcap of the Chattanooga Shootout Sunday afternoon at Jim Frost Stadium.
Trailing 6-5 entering the bottom of the 10th inning, the Lady Mocs advanced their tie-breaking runner to third base and collected back-to-back walks to load the bases with one out before Flores connected on a 2-2 pitch to give Chattanooga a 9-6 victory over Kentucky, their first since 2001.
After three scoreless innings to begin the game, both teams pushed across a run in their half of the fourth inning before sophomore outfielder Destinee Mordecai drove a solo shot down the left field line to make it 2-1 Kentucky the following inning. The Wildcats did not let up, manufacturing two more runs in the sixth for a 4-1 advantage.
At that point the Lady Mocs' offense finally came to life, pounding Kentucky pitching for four runs on six hits to take a 5-4 lead heading into the top of the seventh inning. That rally featured a double by junior third baseman Toni Hutchison (Madison, Tenn.) followed by freshman pitcher Michelle Fuzzard's (Huntington Beach, Calif.) first career home run. A triple later in the inning by freshman outfielder Lyndsey Stiles (Hixson, Tenn.) and a single by senior centerfielder Tara Tembey (Folsom, Calif.) drove in two more runs to cap the rally and put the pressure on the Wildcats.
UK was up to the challenge, however, taking advantage of a three-base error with one out before freshman catcher Megan Yocke's single up the middle tied the score at 5-5.
In the eighth inning, both teams advanced their tie-breaking runner to third base but were unable to break the deadlock. In the ninth, UTC withstood the Wildcats advancing their runner to third but went 1-2-3 in their half of the inning to send it to the 10th inning. Freshman centerfielder Meagan Aull immediately advanced to third on a wild pitch and was then driven home by sophomore shortstop Molly Johnson's double to left to give Kentucky a 6-5 lead and set the stage for a tremendous Chattanooga comeback.
Freshman pitcher Kaitlin Holloway (Chickamauga, Ga.) pitched 4.2 innings of relief, striking out six, to collect her first collegiate victory, while sophomore pitcher Amber Matousek took the loss for the Wildcats to drop her record to 1-1 on the season. Johnson fueled the offense for Kentucky as she posted a 4-for-5 day with two runs and an RBI.
In addition to Flores grand performance late in the game for the Lady Mocs, Fuzzard went 2-for-3 with two runs and delivered her first career home run while junior outfielder Laci Upchurch (Madison, Tenn.) went 2-for-4 with two runs and a key RBI. Tembey also added a 2-for-5 day with a run batted in.
Chattanooga was not so fortunate in the day's earlier game, however, as it was Wichita State that turned the tables on the Lady Mocs late in that game.
The Shockers made a first inning run stand up until the bottom of the fifth inning when a Fuzzard single drove in the tying run. Neither team was able to break the tie until the top of the seventh when Wichita State scored three runs on four hits and an error to pull ahead 4-1.
Chattanooga rallied in the bottom of the inning as Hutchison drove sophomore catcher Brittany Eason (Chattanooga, Tenn.) home from second to make it 4-2 but that would be as close as the Lady Mocs would get. Senior pitcher Ashly Bright then closed out the complete game victory with a pair of outs.
Bright finished the night with 11 strikeouts and evened her record at 1-1 while sophomore pitcher Brooke Loudermilk (Locust Grove, Ga.) took the loss for the Lady Mocs, dropping her to 0-1. In her 6.2 innings, Loudermilk collected her 12th double-digit strikeout performance as she recorded 10.
Offensively, senior outfielder Katie McGeeney paced the Wildcats with a 2-for-3 day with two runs while senior shortstop Britnee Barnett and freshman catcher Heather Gerritse each drove in a run.
For Chattanooga, Fuzzard had the only RBI on her fifth inning single, while Eason and Hutchison each added a hit and a run. Tembey accounted for the Lady Mocs only other hit on the day.
The Lady Mocs return to action when they make their first road trip, traveling to Lipscomb for a 3 p.m. double-header on Tuesday, February 12.
NOTES
The 9-6 victory over Kentucky is tied for the third longest ball game in Lady Mocs history at 10 innings ? it is the 16th such occurrence dating back to the program's first year ... the longest game by inning was a 2-1 defeat to Appalachian State that went 12 innings on March 29, 2003 ... time of the Kentucky game was 3:12 ...Tembey went 8-for-16 over the weekend's four games ... first-year Lady Mocs Michelle Fuzzard and Tiffany Baker each drilled the first home runs of their careers and were instrumental in the two Chattanooga victories.
