Chattanooga vs. Jacksonville State - Game 1 Boxscore
Chattanooga vs. Jacksonville State - Game 2 Boxscore
JACKSONVILLE, Ala. ? A pair of homeruns and six RBI from freshman catcher Katie Blevins (Soddy-Daisy, Tenn.) were not enough as Jacksonville State (7-5) defeated Chattanooga (5-6) 7-6 in eight innings and 7-5 in a non-conference double-header Wednesday night at University Field.
In Game 1, Jacksonville State got on the board first, pushing across a run on a groundout by junior outfielder Jackie Jarman to take a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the second inning before junior pitcher Kayla Collins added a second run with an RBI single the following inning.
The Gamecocks continued their offensive attack in the third inning when junior infielder Coutrney Underwood connected for her first career homerun to lead off the inning and make it 3-0. After advancing a runner to third base on an error and a wild pitch in the fifth inning, senior third baseman Whitney Elder drove her in with a pop-fly double to increase JSU's advantage to 4-0.
Junior pitcher Melissa Dowling continued her strong outing in the top of the sixth as she struck out the side around a pair of singles while the Gamecocks scored a single run for the fifth straight inning, pushing across a run on a wild pitch in the bottom of the inning to make it 5-0.
In the top of the seventh inning that all changed as Chattanooga rallied for five runs on six hits, capped off by a massive three-run homerun by freshman catcher Katie Blevins (Soddy-Daisy, Tenn.) over the right-centerfield fence to tie the score at 5-5.
After setting the Gamecocks down in order in the bottom of the seventh inning to send it to extras, the Lady Mocs advanced their tie-breaking runner to third on an error before taking the lead on a wild pitch, 6-5. JSU then notched three straight outs to limit the damage and send the game to the bottom of the eighth inning.
Jacksonville State quickly sacrificed their tie-breaking runner over to third before freshman catcher Kylie Jo Chandler belted a two-run homerun out to left center to give the Gamecocks a walk-off 7-6 victory.
For JSU, Chandler and Underwood both finished with 2-for-4 nights with each scoring a run while Underwood produced one RBI and Chandler finished with two. Senior third baseman Whitney Elder and junior designated hitter Kayla Collins each contributed an RBI while Dowling collected the victory to move to 3-3.
Blevins led the Chattanooga attack, going 2-for-4 with a homerun and three RBIs while junior third baseman Toni Hutchison (Madison, Tenn.) added a 2-for-4 night with a run scored and an RBI. Sophomore pitcher Brooke Loudermilk (Locust Grove, Ga.) took the loss for the Lady Mocs to fall to 1-3.
In the second game, Chattanooga jumped out ahead early as freshman pitcher Michelle Fuzzard (Huntington Beach, Calif.) lined an RBI single and Blevins connected for her second homerun of the night, this one a two-run shot, to give the Lady Mocs a 3-0, first inning lead.
UTC added two more runs in the top of the third inning when Blevins laced an RBI triple and junior outfielder Laci Upchurch (Madison, Tenn.) drove in a second run on a single left field to make it 5-0.
In the fourth inning, Jacksonville State woke up offensively as they drove in six runs on four hits to pull ahead 6-4. Three RBI singles and a second homerun by Chandler fueled the rally. JSU would add an insurance run on a sacrifice fly in the fifth inning to push their lead to the 7-5 before closing out the come-from-behind victory.
Chandler led the offense for the Gamecocks with a 1-for-3 performance with three RBIs and a run scored while Elder, Underwood, junior outfielder Jackie Jarman and junior catcher Allie Barker each drove in one run. Freshman pitcher Ashley Eliasson went the distance to pick up the win and improve her record to 3-1 on the season.
For Chattanooga, Blevins went 2-for-3 with a homerun, triple, three RBI's and two runs scored while Fuzzard and Upchurch each added an RBI. Freshman pitcher Kandice Irwin (Knoxville, Tenn.) took the loss for UTC, falling to 2-2 on the season.
On the night, Blevins finished 4-for-7 with two homeruns, a triple and six RBIs.
The Lady Mocs return home when they host the 2008 Chattanooga Challenge from February 22-24 at Jim Frost Stadium. Chattanooga will open play at 4:30 p.m. when they face East Tennessee State.
