UTC-Arizona State Box Score
TEMPE, Ariz. --- The Chattanooga softball team (4-3) fell 8-0 Thursday night at the hands of defending national champion No. 3 Arizona State (6-1). Senior Toni Hutchison led the Lady Mocs with a 2-for-2 performance as UTC was only able to muster four hits off Arizona State pitcher Hillary Bach (4-0).
Lyndsey Stiles and Michelle Fuzzard recorded the other two hits for Chattanooga, who have now lost two games in a row.
After a scoreless first inning, the Sun Devil offense flexed its muscles in the second with a leadoff solo home run by Krista Donnenwirth off Kandice Irwin (2-2). Arizona State was not done in the frame, as ASU put up a run on an RBI single by Jessica Mapes and cashed in on one of four UTC errors to go up 3-0 after two.
After the Lady Mocs went down in order in the third, Arizona State kept the pressure on as the Sun Devils staged another rally. Kaitlin Cochran led off the inning with a walk and would advance into scoring position with her second stolen base of the game.
Cochran would go to third on a wild pitch as Katelyn Boyd walked to put runners on the corners. Donnenwirth would also draw a walk to put runners at the corners. Irwin would battle back however, retiring the next to batters on a strike out a fielder's choice at the plate. The Lady Mocs were unable to get through the inning unscathed though as Katie Crabb hit a ringing two-run double to give Arizona State a 5-0 advantage.
In the top half of the fourth the UTC offense had its biggest threat to Boyd and Sun Devils as Fuzzard led off with a single through the right side. A Tiffany Baker flyout to centerfield brought up Toni Hutchison, who hit a hard groundball off the ASU pitcher to for her second hit as the Lady Mocs had runners on first and second with only one out.
After a Lynleigh Hurndon sacrifice bunt, Tia Blosser came up with two away and hit a sharp grounder, but right at the second baseman.
Arizona State would tack on another run in the bottom half of the fourth before scoring two in the fifth and ending the contest on a Mapes fielder's choice.
The Lady Mocs will now begin the Littlewood Classic on Friday beginning with Kent State at 5:30 p.m. ET. Chattanooga will end the day with a rematch against No. 3 Arizona State at 9:30 p.m. ET.
