Western Carolina vs Chattanooga Boxscore
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. - Sophomore pitcher Brooke Loudermilk (Locust Grove, Ga.) recovered from an early home run to scatter five hits and strikeout 11 batters as Chattanooga (22-14, 4-0) notched a 3-1 victory over Western Carolina (6-21, 0-7) in a rain delayed affair on Sunday afternoon at Jim Frost Stadium.
Western Carolina got on the board early with a 1-0 lead in the second inning as junior third baseman Stephanie Beatty hit a solo home run down the left field line before Loudermilk took control of the game. She struck out seven of the next twelve batters and limited the Catamounts to three hits during that span while Chattanooga's bats came to life.
The Lady Mocs got on the board in the fourth inning as freshman catcher Katie Blevins (Soddy-Daisy, Tenn.) walked and advanced to second on a wild pitch before redshirt-freshman infielder Tiffany Baker (East Ridge, Tenn.) doubled to right center to tie the game at 1-1. UTC would add the go-ahead run the following inning when freshman utility player Della Harrison (Nashville, Tenn.) scored on a fielder's choice by junior outfielder Laci Upchurch (Madison, Tenn.) to make it 2-1.
Chattanooga added an insurance run in the bottom of the sixth as they loaded the bases on a pair of errors and a walk. Junior third baseman Toni Hutchison (Madison, Tenn.) then drew the third walk of the inning to drive home a run and make it 3-1.
In the seventh inning, Loudermilk induced a fly out and registered her 11th strikeout of the game for the first two outs before walking a batter. With a 2-2 count on pinch hitter Keely Torgison, lightning delayed the conclusion of the game until Sunday morning. At that point, freshman pitcher Kandice Irwin (Knoxville, Tenn.) entered the game in relief and needed only one pitch to close out the 3-1 win with a groundout.
For Chattanooga, Baker, Hutchison and Upchurch accounted for the RBIs while Blevins doubled and walked twice. For Hutchison, it is her sixth RBI of the week. Loudermilk pitched 6.2 innings, allowed only one walk and struck out 11 batters to move to 10-6 on the season while Irwin collected the first save of her career. Junior Lauren Ross took the loss for the Catamounts to fall to 1-11 on the season.
The Lady Mocs return to action on Sunday, March 30 with a double-header against Western Carolina to conclude the series. .
NOTES
With Chattanooga leading 3-1 with a 2-2 count and two outs in the seventh inning Saturday night, the game was suspended due to heavy rains and lightning ... it was completed on Sunday morning directly prior to the series double-header ... for Loudermilk, it is her 16th career double-digit strikeout game and fifth this season.
