Elon vs. Chattanooga Box Score - Game 3
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. - Freshman outfielder Lyndsey Stiles (Hixson, Tenn.) went 2-for-3 with a triple and steal of home while freshman pitcher Kaitlin Holloway (Chickamauga, Ga.) pitched three scoreless innings of relief as Chattanooga (31-15, 9-1) notched a 4-2 victory over Elon (17-18, 6-6) Sunday afternoon at Jim Frost Stadium.
Having been held to just one run in the nightcap of the previous day's double-header with the Phoenix, Chattanooga wasted no time getting on the board in the series finale. After a scoreless first inning, junior outfielder Laci Upchurch (Madison, Tenn.) slammed the first pitch she saw into the leftfield foul pole for her fifth home run of the season and a 1-0 UTC lead.
Senior outfielder Ashlan Clarkson (Chickamauga, Ga.) then followed with a walk before scoring on a triple into the right field corner by Lyndsey Stiles to make it 2-0 before she stole home for her eighth steal of the year and a 3-0 advantage.
Elon responded in the top of the third inning with back-to-back singles, a run on a passed ball and an RBI double by junior designated hitter Melanie Helterbran to close to within 3-2. Sophomore pitcher Brooke Loudermilk (Locust Grove, Ga.) entered the game following the second run and recorded two strikeouts around a walk.
After an uneventful fourth inning and a walk to lead off the fifth, Kaitlin Holloway made her fifth appearance in Chattanooga's last six games. Following an error that put runners on second and third with no one out, Holloway then retired the next three batters, the final two by strikeout, to get out of the jam.
The score would stay at 3-2 until the bottom of the sixth inning when sophomore catcher Brittany Eason (Chattanooga, Tenn.) pinch hit and drew a two-out walk for the Lady Mocs and Stiles singled up the middle to put runners on first and second. Senior shortstop Tara Tembey (Folsom, Calif.) then lined a single to right field to add an insurance run and make it 4-2 heading into the top of the seventh.
Holloway allowed a leadoff single before striking out Helterbran and inducing a pair of pop-ups to collect her fifth victory in her last six appearances and improve to 7-1 on the season, all in relief. Senior Carol Lilley went only 1.2 innings and allowed three runs to take the loss for Elon and fall to 5-5 on the year.
Stiles led the way offensively for Chattanooga with a 2-for-3 performance that included her second triple of the year, her eighth steal and a run and RBI. With her steal of home, the Hixson, Tenn. native has now swiped a base in each of her last four games and is 8-for-8 on the season. Upchurch added her fifth home run of the season, moving her into fifth place all-time on the Lady Mocs career home run list with 20 while Tara Tembey accounted for UTC's other RBI.
The Lady Mocs will resume their Southern Conference schedule next weekend when they travel to Greenville, South Carolina to take on the Furman Paladins. First pitch for Game 1 is set for 1:00 p.m. on April 19 and the series finale will wrap up on April 20 at 1:00 p.m.
NOTES
Over her last six outings, Kaitlin Holloway has thrown 23.1 innings, struck out 18 batters and allowed only 12 hits and two runs ... during that stretch she has picked up five victories.
