UTC-Samford Box Score (Game 1)
UTC-Samford Box Score (Game 2)
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. --- Behind stellar pitching and more clutch hitting, the Chattanooga softball team kept on rolling to its seventh and eighth straight victories with a two-game sweep of Samford on Saturday. With the victories, Frank Reed captured wins No. 299 and 300 as the head coach at Chattanooga.
“To get to 300 wins, that means you are pretty old,” Reed said jokingly. “It means I have been apart of 300 victories for a program that I care a lot about, and that means a lot to me.”
The Lady Mocs (14-11/5-0 SoCon) bested the Bulldogs (8-15/2-6 SoCon) 6-3 in Game 1 thanks to a three-run, walk-off home run by Tiffany Baker, her second game-ending dinger of the season. In Game 2, UTC was led by Michelle Fuzzard, who threw a three-hit, complete-game shutout as Chattanooga completed the sweep, 1-0.
With the doubleheader sweep, the Lady Mocs now sit a game-and-a-half above Appalachian State for first place in the Southern Conference.
In the twin bill's first game, Brooke Loudermilk toed the rubber for UTC. The junior allowed her first earned run of the season in the first inning thanks to a RBI double by Amanda Barrs to put Samford up 1-0.
Barrs (2-6) was also the pitcher for the Bulldogs in the contest and kept the Lady Mocs' offense quiet until the third inning. With two outs and no runners on, Toni Hutchison kept the inning alive with a single into centerfield. Jenni Martin would drive in Hutchison on the very next pitch with a ringing double into left-centerfield.
Chattanooga took the lead in the next inning with another RBI double, this time by Lyndsey Stiles.
The Bulldogs did not lie down however, putting up a run apiece in the fifth and sixth inning. Samford received a lot of help from the UTC defense, which committed four errors in the contest.
Down 3-2 in the bottom of the sixth, Chattanooga staged another rally via the RBI double. Tia Blosser, who had three of the team's errors, atoned in a big way with a liner into right field that brought in Lauren Flores.
After both teams failed to score in the seventh and Samford was held scoreless in the eighth, the Lady Mocs began to stage another late rally.
Kaiti Kelley led off the frame with her second hit of the afternoon. Stiles then put Kelley in scoring position with a sacrifice bunt. After a Blosser lineout and a Fuzzard walk, Baker stepped to the plate with another chance for a walk-off. The sophomore did not disappoint, sending Barrs's 2-0 offering over the wall in left-center.
This was Baker's second homer of the walk-off variety of the season as she gave the Lady Mocs a 7-5 victory over Campbell on Feb. 6.
Kandice Irwin (5-6) picked up the victory for UTC, throwing two inning of relief. Irwin dominated the Samford bats, striking out five of the seven batters she faced.
In Game 2, Chattanooga was able to ride the right arm of Fuzzard (5-4) all the way as the sophomore went the distance, allowing only three hits in the contest.
UTC had plenty of opportunities to get on the board as the team left eight runners on the bags. The Lady Mocs were able to put its lone run across in the second inning with a RBI single by Stiles, her first of two hits in the contest.
In the seventh, Fuzzard retired Samford in order to give Chattanooga its eighth victory in a row.
The team will go for nine wins in a row and a sweep of the Bulldogs on Sunday. First pitch is scheduled for 2 p.m. from Jim Frost Stadium.
Live stats will be available at GoMocs.com.
