Indiana vs. Chattanooga Boxscore
Connecticut vs. Chattanooga Boxscore
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. - Junior outfielder Laci Upchurch (Madison, Tenn.) pounded a grand slam in the second inning and freshman catcher Katie Blevins (Soddy-Daisy, Tenn.) hammered her seventh homerun of the season as Chattanooga (10-8) defeated Indiana (2-6) 8-1 Saturday afternoon before falling 1-0 to Connecticut (2-6) at Jim Frost Stadium.
In Game 1, the Lady Mocs came out firing on all cylinders as junior third baseman Toni Hutchison (Madison, Tenn.) singled home a run and Blevins drilled a three-run shot over the left field fence to stake UTC to a 4-0 first inning lead. The onslaught continued in the second inning as Chattanooga quickly loaded the bases, setting the stage for Upchurch's second career grand slam which she drove over the left centerfield fence to make the score 8-1 after two innings.
That would be all the Lady Mocs would need as sophomore pitcher Brooke Loudermilk (Locust Grove, Ga.) settled in and pitched a complete game and allowed only the one earned run while striking out five batters. Loudermilk picked up the win to move to 4-4 on the season while freshman Sara Olson took the loss for the Hoosiers, dropping to 0-1 on the season.
Upchurch finished the game 2-for-3 with four RBIs and a run scored while Blevins went 2-for-4 with two runs and three RBIs. She currently leads the team with seven homeruns and 18 RBIs while Upchurch is now second on the team in both categories with three homeruns and 15 RBIs. Loudermilk lowered her ERA to 2.80 on the season.
Freshman Brittany Devitt accounted for the only Indiana run as she connected for her second homerun of the year in top of the second inning.
While Game 1 was an offensive clinic, the second game of the day for the Lady Mocs was just as impressive a pitching performance. In that game, both sophomore Tricia Sullivan for UConn and freshman pitcher Kandice Irwin (Knoxville, Tenn.) for UTC pitched a shutout through six inning with only three hits being tallied between the two teams.
At one point, Irwin retired 14 consecutive batters while Sullivan allowed only one hit, a Hutchison single in the second inning, for the entire game. In the top of the seventh inning, one scoreless stretch would end as freshman Melissa Lucas connected for her second homerun of the season to give the Huskies a 1-0 lead heading into the bottom of the seventh inning.
It would be enough as Sullivan continued her dominance and closed out the 1-0 victory with a 1-2-3 inning in the bottom half of the frame. Sullivan struck out four batters and improves to 2-2 on the year while Irwin drops to 4-3 after striking out six batters in seven innings. Irwin lowers her ERA to 2.80 and is tied for the team lead with Loudermilk.
Chattanooga is back in action tomorrow afternoon as they close out the Frost Classic with two games, beginning with former Southern Conference foe Marshall at 2:15 p.m. and continuing with currently 11-0 Morehead State at 4:30 p.m. Both games will be at Frost Stadium.
NOTES
Upchurch's first career grand slam came on May 5, 2007 in the second game of a double-header against the College of Charleston ... at 1:10, the Connecticut game is the Lady Mocs fastest of the season.
** Please note schedule changes for Sunday's games at www.GoMocs.com **
2008 Lady Mocs Schedule
