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 Western Carolina (6-23, 0-9) Sunday afternoon at Jim Frost Stadium.
Western Carolina took the early advantage in Game 1, putting together a pair of singles, a walk and capitalizing on an error to take a 1-0 lead in the second inning on a sacrifice fly from junior centerfielder Jamie Swank.
After being held scoreless for the first two innings, Chattanooga woke up offensively in the third inning as redshirt-freshman infielder Tiffany Baker (East Ridge, Tenn.) led off with a single to center and freshman outfielder Lyndsey Stiles (Hixson, Tenn.) walked to put runners on first and second. Senior outfielder Ashlan Clarkson (Chickamauga, Ga.) then singled home Baker to tie the game at 1-1.
Lauren Flores and freshman first baseman Michelle Fuzzard (Huntington Beach, Calif.) then followed with RBI singles of their own to push the lead to 3-1. UTC added another run the following inning as junior outfielder Laci Upchurch (Madison, Tenn.) singled, stole second and advanced to third on a wild pitch before scoring on another RBI single, this one by freshman outfielder Lyndsey Stiles (Hixson, Tenn.), to make it 4-1.
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, Flores beat out a bunt for an RBI single and Fuzzard lofted a deep fly ball to bring home the third run of the inning on a sacrifice fly and push the lead to 7-4.
Brooke Loudermilk, who had entered in relief in the sixth inning, then set down Western Carolina in order in the top of the seventh inning to lock up the Lady Mocs seventh straight win, 7-4 and improve to 11-6 on the season. Freshman pitcher Lily McDonagh took the loss in relief as she pitched one inning and gave up three runs to fall to 1-7.
For Chattanooga, Lauren Flores swiped her third base of the year and went 2-for-4, tying her career-high for hits, and drove in two runs while Michelle Fuzzard finished at 1-for-3 with two RBIs. Tara Tembey went 2-for-4 with a run and an RBI and Tiffany Baker and Lyndsey Stiles each produced 2-for-2 days with two runs scored. Stiles added an RBI. Ashlan Clarkson accounted for the other RBI and scored a run while going 1-for-3.
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 Western Carolina until the top of the sixth inning.
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, Chattanooga tacked on a pair of insurance runs in the bottom of the sixth inning as an Upchurch sac fly and a Baker double stretched the lead 4-1.
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 Western Carolina. Brooke Loudermilk, making her fourth appearance in five games this week, entered the game in relief and proceeded to strike out the final three batters to secure the 4-2 victory and her third save of the season.
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 Alabama-Birmingham in a double-header at Jim Frost Stadium on Wednesday, April 2. It will be Breast Cancer Awareness night at the ball park and the double-header will feature a number of special events, including a special guest for the ceremonial first pitch and both teams wearing pink shoelaces and wristbands. First pitch is slated for 4:00 p.m.
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.
