University of Tennessee at Chattanooga
Western Carolina
Chattanooga sweeps Western Carolina to take over sole possession of first place in the Southern Conference
3/30/2008 12:00:00 AM | Softball
Western Carolina vs. Chattanooga Boxscore - Game 2
Western Carolina vs. Chattanooga Boxscore - Game 3
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. ? Sophomore pitcher Brooke Loudermilk (Locust Grove, Ga.) picked up a win and save in relief and freshman outfielder Lauren Flores (Fort Oglethorpe, Ga.) went 2-for-4 with two RBIs as Chattanooga (24-14, 6-0) won their eighth straight game and swept their second consecutive Southern Conference series with 7-4 and 4-2 victories over
After being held scoreless for the first two innings,
Lauren Flores and freshman first baseman Michelle Fuzzard (
The Catamounts answered right back in the top of the fifth inning as a pair of singles and a passed ball put runners on first and third for redshirt-sophomore Mollie Fowler, who then pounded her first home run of the year over the centerfield fence to tie the score at 4-4.
The score would stay that way until the bottom of the sixth inning when Baker once again led off the inning with a single up the middle. Stiles followed with a single to put runners on first and second and, following the first out of the inning, senior shortstop Tara Tembey (Folsom, Calif.) doubled home the go-ahead run with a shot to right field, making it 5-4. After a pitching change,
Brooke Loudermilk, who had entered in relief in the sixth inning, then set down
For
It was a pitching duel for most of the series finale as Chattanooga managed only two hits and a pair of unearned runs through the first four innings to take a 2-0 lead. Over the that same time, Michelle Fuzzard allowed only two hits and struck out four batters to limit the Catamounts. She would continue to befuddle
A lead-off walk and a sac bunt by WCU moved a runner into scoring position before freshman infielder Amber Hawkins singled down the right field line to get the Catamounts on the board and make the score 2-1. After getting out of that inning,
A long home run by Mollie Fowler to lead off the seventh signaled the end of Fuzzard's day, but that did not mean it would not get any better for
Fuzzard finished the day for the Lady Mocs with six strikeouts and two earned runs over six innings to collect the win and move to 3-2 on the season while junior Lauren Ross suffered her second defeat of the series to fall to 1-12 in 2008. Loudermilk's save is her third of the season and sets a career high.
At the plate, Toni Hutchison went 2-for-3 with two runs scored while Clarkson finished the day a perfect 2-for-2. Baker and Upchurch accounted for both Chattanooga RBIs with a double and sacrifice fly, respectively.
The Lady Mocs will be back in action when they host the University of
NOTES
With the sweep, the Lady Mocs have now won eight consecutive games, marking their longest win streak since the 2005 team won 15 straight from March 11-30 of that year ... with her third save of the season, Brooke Loudermilk is now tied for fifth all-time on Chattanooga's career saves list and is tied for sixth on the single season list ... Loudermilk made four appearances and pitched 16.2 innings while allowing only six hits, one run and one walk and striking out 24 batters.
