CLERMONT, Fla. - The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga softball team earned their first two wins of the season against Florida Atlantic, 2-1, and UCF, 4-2, at the National Training Center Invitational in Clermont, Fla. Junior Tiffany Baker (East Ridge, Tenn) had the game winning RBI single against the Owls, while seniors Tia Blosser (Knoxville, Tenn.) and Kaiti Kelley (Chattanooga, Tenn.) scored the winning runs on a fielder's choice by Fuzzard off a Knights' throwing error.
Senior Brooke Loudermilk (Locust Grove, Ga.) recorded a win and save on the day striking out a total of 11, while only surrendering four hits. Junior Nikki Waters (Soddy Daisy, Tenn.) received the start in the second game fanning four batters and found a rhythm after two first inning runs.
Senior Brittany Eason (Chattanooga, Tenn.) and Baker blasted solo home runs on the day powering the Lady Mocs offense.
Game One: Chattanooga 2, FAU 1
Pitching for the Lady Mocs was Loudermilk (Locust Grove, Ga.) who notched her first win of the season and struck out eight batters. Junior Kandice Irwin (Knoxville, Tenn.) came in for a two inning save compiling two strikeouts and the only runner on base was due to a walk.
The Owls struck first after a single and stolen base, Kerri Croney drove a ball right up the middle to score the first run of the game. Loudermilk was able to limit the damage as the Owls left a runner on third base.
In the bottom half, junior Lyndsey Stiles (Hixson, Tenn.) led off the inning with a single to the pitcher and stole a base advancing to second. Junior Michelle Fuzzard (Huntington Beach, Calif.) hit a soft liner over the third baseman into left field, but Stiles was held at third with one out. After a 12-pitch at bat to junior Tiffany Baker (East Ridge, Tenn.), FAU pitcher Amber Barton was able to retire the side with a foul pop up caught by the first baseman.
Leading off the bottom of the second inning, senior Brittany Eason (Chattanooga, Tenn.) notched the first home run of the season for the Lady Mocs with a drive over the center field fence. The long ball was the eighth of her career.
Sophomore Kristin Holloway (Chickamauga, Ga.) made her first start of the season at second base and notched a single to the catcher during the second.
In the top of the fifth, FAU loaded the bases with two outs on three-straight walks, but Loudermilk retired the side on a fly out to center.
Holloway drew a walk to start the bottom of the fifth and advanced to second with two outs on a sacrifice bunt by Kelley. Fuzzard walked placing runners at the corners for Baker, who singled home the game winning run through an outstretched third baseman into left field scoring Holloway.
The Lady Mos were only able to get one run in the inning and junior Kandice Irwin (Knoxville, Tenn.) came in for the save. Irwin retired the Owls in order in the sixth, striking out one.
Game Two: Chattanooga 4, UCF 2
After UCF knocked off No. 16 Tennessee and fell to No. 4 Georgia, Waters settled down and pitched well for Chattanooga after the Knights scored two quick first inning runs. The Soddy Daisy, Tenn., native recorded four strikeouts and only a single walk in 4.1 innings, while Loudermilk came in to shut the door earning the save.
Kelley went three-for-four against the Knights posting three singles and an RBI.
Blosser singled to center in the top of the third with one out. She advanced to second on a groundout to the pitcher and scored on a single down the left field line by Kelley to put the Lady Mocs on the board.
Baker hit a ball that just cleared the left field fence to tie the game at two in the fourth. The home run was Baker's first of the season and 19th of career.
In the top of the fifth inning, Blosser was hit by a pitch and sophomore Lyndsey Stiles (Hixson, Tenn.) hit a single up the middle. To move both runners advanced to scoring position, Kelley bunted the ball and the catcher was unable to make a play.
With the bases loaded, Fuzzard came up and hit a ball to the second baseman, who over threw the catcher, allowing Chattanooga to score two runs and take the lead, 4-2. A lineup card miscue erased a two RBI double down the left field line by Baker, which resulted in the second out of the inning. Chattanooga ended the inning with two runners left on base
After Waters recorded the first out of the bottom of the fifth inning, Loudermilk came in for an eight-out save. A short UCF rally came in the bottom of the seventh when the Knights got two runners on base from a walk and hit by pitch, but Loudermilk quickly shut the door on UCF.
The Lady Mocs are back in action next weekend at the Austin Peay Classic in Clarksville, Tenn. Tennessee State and Austin Peay open the tournament for Chattanooga starting at 3 p.m. Friday. Live stats will be available on GoMocs.com.
Fans that want to catch all the Lady Mocs softball action at Frost Stadium can purchase a season pass for $55 that can be accessed from the link above. The pass is a 30% savings off individual ticket prices, provides access to the entire Frost Classic and shows your support for the softball program.
GoMocs.com is the official website of the Chattanooga Lady Mocs. The Lady Mocs can also be followed on their official Facebook page, www.facebook.com/ChattanoogaMocs, or on Twitter, www.twitter.com/GoMocs.
