Courtesy: Jeff Hurndon
Senior Brooke Loudermilk now holds the UTC strikeout record with 790 in her career.
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Chattanooga at Samford
March 27, 2010 |
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Birmingham, Ala. (Bulldog Field)
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| Team |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
8 |
R |
H |
E |
| UTC (20-8, 3-0) |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
1 |
3 |
9 |
1 |
| SAM (9-16, 1-6) |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
1 |
1 |
WP - Kandice Irwin (4-0) LP - Amanda Barrs (1-10)
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Chattanooga at Samford
March 27, 2010 |
|
|
Birmingham, Ala. (Bulldog Field)
|
| Team |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
R |
H |
E |
| UTC (21-8, 3-0) |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
6 |
0 |
7 |
9 |
1 |
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7SAM (9-17, 1-)
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0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
3 |
1 |
4 |
6 |
0 |
Game Notes:
- Senior Brooke Loudermilk struckout seven batters on the day raising her career total to 782 inching closer to leader Beth Alexander at 785.
- Junior Tiffany Baker hit her 25th home run of the season. She is now tied with Melissa Ramirez (1999-2002) and Laci Upchurch (2006-10) for first on the UTC all-time charts
- With two stolen bases and 16 this season without being caught, junior Lyndsey Stiles has 45 career stolen bags passing Leah Tucker (1998-01) with 44. The leader is Jeannie Cochran (2004-07) with 94.
- Senior Tia Blosser hit her fourth home run of the season, a grand slam to left center. Baker was the last player to hit a grand slam against Belmont last year (4/18/09).
-Junior Kandice Irwin registered her fourth victory of the season and has not been credited with a loss
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - Senior Brooke Loudermilk (Locust Grove, Ga.) surpassed the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga strikeout record with eight strikeouts in the first game and junior Tiffany Baker (East Ridge, Tenn.) led off the eighth with the 25th home run of her career to tie the career home run record as the Lady Mocs defeated Samford 3-2 in extra innings. Chattanooga used a grand slam by senior Tia Blosser (Knoxville, Tenn.) in the second game to cap a six-run sixth inning as the Lady Mocs won 7-4 at Bulldog Field in Birmingham, Ala.
With a total of 790 career strikeouts, Loudermilk passed Beth Alexander (1999-02) in the third inning fanning her 786th career hitter. The Locust Grove, Ga., native broke Alexander's mark in 119.2 less innings pitched then Loudermilk, who missed half of the 2009 season recovering from off-season shoulder surgery.
Another milestone was tied in game one as Baker blasted a homer over the left center fence to put the Lady Mocs on top 3-2 in the eighth. It tied the UTC all-time career home run record with Melissa Ramirez (2002-05) and Laci Upchurch (2009-10) at 25.
The sweep by the Lady Mocs improved their record to 21-8 on the season and 5-0 in the Southern Conference, while the Bulldogs fell to 9-16 and 1-5 in conference play
Game One: Chattanooga 3, Samford 2 (8 innings)
The UTC softball team overcame a two run deficit in the seventh to tie the contest with Samford at two heading into the bottom of the inning. Junior relief pitcher Kandice Irwin (Knoxville, Tenn.) retired the Bulldogs in order and Baker provided a home run to lead off the top of the eight to put Chattanooga on top for good, 3-2.
Earning the win was Irwin, who pitched two innings and gave up just one hit, while striking out two. Loudermilk started the game for the Lady Mocs and gave up just two runs in six complete innings, striking out eight on the day.
Heading into the fourth inning Loudermilk had two strikeouts to tie Alexander, she fanned Katie England looking by painting the outside corner for number 786 and the record.
After striking the first two Bulldogs in the fourth, Amanda Jordan hit a mistake by Loudermilk over the centerfield fence giving Samford an early 1-0 lead. Jordan scored the second run of the game in the sixth, when Anna Kimbrell singled up the middle.
With their backs against the wall, the Lady Mocs made another remarkable comeback scoring twice to tie the contest at two just as they did against Rutgers and Eastern Illinois earlier in the year.
Starting the seventh, pinch hitter Sara Poteat (Thomaston, Ga.) beat out an infield single to the shortstop to ignite the rally. Then, junior Lauren Flores (Ft. Oglethorpe, Ga.) put Chattanooga in business with a double down the left field line that glanced off the third baseman's glove placing two runners in scoring position.
Another pinch hitter Della Harrison (Nashville, Tenn.) came up and delivered a single through the left side plating Poteat to cut the Samford lead to 2-1. Head coach Frank Reed went to his bench again at the top of the order and sophomore Jenni Martin (East Ridge, Tenn.) made him look like a genius with a single through the right side knotting the score at two.
After an infield single by senior Kaiti Kelley (Chattanooga, Tenn.) to load the bases, Blosser hit a hard liner to the third baseman, who caught it and doubled off Harrison, who danced off third ending the threat.
With Irwin retiring the side in the bottom-half, Baker, who had been hit twice earlier in the game and walked another, was clearly being pitched around by the Bulldogs. She took a first pitch strike before pitcher Amanda Barrs threw three-straight balls and then a strike for a full count. Baker then fouled off two before sending a pitch over the left center field fence for her seventh home run of the season.
Samford starter Stephanie Royal went 6.1 innings striking out one and yielding eight hits. Barrs came on to finish the contest and received the loss.
Game Two: Chattanooga 7, Samford 4
After taking the first game in dramatic fashion, Chattanooga used a six-run sixth inning along with a grand slam by Blosser to take a 7-0 lead on the Bulldogs en route to a 7-4 victory.
In the circle, junior Nikki Waters (Soddy Daisy, Tenn.) picked up the victory pitching 5.1 innings and fanning five Bulldogs before Irwin came on to complete the contest.
Putting the Lady Mocs up early was sophomore Jessica Traxler (Chino Hills, Calif.), who stroked a solo home run over the left field fence for her second of the season.
With the game seaming to be low scoring at 1-0 heading into the sixth inning, the Lady Mocs use five hits to break the game wide open with six runs. Singles by Traxler and junior Lauren Flores (Ft. Ogelthorpe, Ga.) put Chattanooga in good position to extend its lead to begin the inning. Another single by senior Lynleigh Hurndon (McDonough, Ga.) put Chattanooga up 2-0 and a double by Stiles plated the third run of the game.
After Kelley drew a walk with two runners in scoring position to load the bases, Blosser took no time to unload them crushing a 1-0 pitch high and deep over the left field fence giving Chattanooga a 7-0 lead. It was the fourth home run for Blosser on the season. The last time a Lady Moc hit a grand slam was last season when Baker hit one against Belmont (4/18/09).
A double play ended the inning for the Bulldogs, who mounted a rally of their own in their half of the inning. After the first out, Samford came out with three-straight singles and a hit by pitch to score its first run of the game. Irwin struck out the next hitter and would have gotten out of the inning, but a fielding miscue gave the Bulldogs two more runs cutting into the 7-3 lead.
With two outs in the bottom of the seventh, Katie England caught up with an Irwin fastball and put it over the center field fence. England went 2-for-4 in the second game scoring twice, while Alex Adams added a two singles.
The Lady Mocs are back in action against Samford tomorrow at 2 p.m. (E.S.T) pending weather that is supposed to blanket the southeast on Sunday. Live statistics and an audio broadcast (pending weather) will be available on GoMocs.com for the contest.
