Courtesy: GoMocs.com
Senior Kandice Irwin picked up her first save of the season battling through a bases loaded situation in the sixth.
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Florida Atlantic vs. Chattanooga
Feb 11, 2010 |
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Clermont, Fla. (NTC Stadium)
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| Team |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
R |
H |
E |
| FAU (0-1) |
0 |
0 |
0
|
0 |
0 |
1
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0 |
1
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5
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1
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| UTC (1-0) |
0 |
2
|
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0
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2
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5
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2
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WP: Nikki Waters (1-0) LP: Rose Gressley (0-1)
S: Kandice Irwin (1)
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Georgia Tech vs. Chattanooga
Feb 11, 2010 |
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Clermont, Fla. (NTC Stadium)
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| Team |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
R |
H |
E |
| GT (0-0) |
0 |
0 |
0 |
3
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1
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1
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1
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6
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10
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1
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UTC (1-0)
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0 |
0
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0
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0 |
0 |
0 |
0
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1
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2
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2
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Game Notes:
- FAU left 11 runners on base, while the Lady Mocs had just five.
- Freshman Natalie Powers notched a single in her first career at bat.
CLERMONT, Fla. - The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga softball team kicked off the 2011 campaign with a victory against Florida Atlantic, 2-1, but fell to Georgia Tech, 6-1, in the night cap of at Dot Richardson's National Collegiate Softball Invitational. Sophomore Sara Poteat (Thomaston, Ga.) had a two-RBI double down the left field line to propel Chattanooga over the Owls, while Georgia Tech's offense awoke during the final four frames for six runs.
Junior first baseman Michelle Fuzzard (Huntington Beach, Calif.) paced the offense with three hits and including a double along with an RBI during the doubleheader.
Game One: Chattanooga 2, Florida Atlantic 1
Poteat had the big base hit for Chattanooga, a two-RBI double down the left field line, that ended up being the difference in a 2-1 victory against Florida Atlantic.
In the circle, senior Nikki Waters (Soddy Daisy, Tenn.) picked up the victory and classmate Kandice Irwin (Knoxville, Tenn.) notched the save. Waters worked against a tight strike zone and fought through six walks to pitch into the sixth inning. Both pitchers each recorded two strikeouts, while Irwin fanned the final two.
With a two-for-two performance, junior Michelle Fuzzard (Huntington Beach, Calif.) began her season on the right foot after missing most of last season.
After a scoreless first, junior Vivian Morimoto (Sao Paulo, Brazil) led off the bottom of the second for Chattanooga with a walk and advanced to second on a wild pitch. Freshman Kaiti Dutton (Chandler, Ariz.) hit a hard ball that the shortstop was unable to handle. Loading the bases was freshman Natalie Powers (Glenpool, Okla.) with a single into left field.
With one out, Poteat delivered a double down the left field line just past the third baseman to score two. The Lady Mocs were unable to continue the threat, but took a 2-0 lead.
After Florida Atlantic left the bases loaded, Fuzzard led off with a double to right center and a successful fly to right by Baker put a runner within 60 feet with less than two out. Mormimoto jumped on a pitch and sliced it down the left field line, but Haylie Broyles made a diving stab and she immediately threw it to third to check if the runner Layne Rainey (Clarksville, Tenn.) left early. After the umpires discussed the play, it was ruled a double play and the Owls were out of the inning.
The game was quiet till the top of the sixth, when Rose Gressley reached on a bad hop to first. Ashlyn Permerter doubled to put the pressure on Chattanooga with two runners in scoring position.
Immediately, head coach Frank Reed went to his bullpen and brought in Irwin, who walked the first batter to load the bases. The Knoxville, Tenn., native then forced a groundout and struck out the next batter before the Owls broke up the shutout on a slow roller to second. Irwin got the next hitter to hit a grounder to senior third baseman Tiffany Baker (East Ridge, Tenn.), who dove back to the bag to get the force out and end the frame.
Once again, Fuzzard led off the sixth with a single up the middle and Baker deposited one into right. Senior Kristin Holloway (Chickamauga, Ga.) and sophomore Kasey Tydingco (Fairfield, Calif.) were put in as pinch runners, but Chattanooga could not build upon its lead.
The Owls went down in order in the seventh as Irwin fanned Gressley to end the contest.For Florida Atlantic, Whitley Herb went 3-for-4 with three infield singles, while Gressley went the distance in the circle striking out four.
Game Two: Georgia Tech 6, Chattanooga 1
The second game proved to be a difficult one as pitcher Kristin Adkins kept the Lady Mocs hitters off-balance for a majority of the game as Georgia Tech posted a 6-1 win. Fuzzard produced the only RBI for Chattanooga scoring Poteat from third in the sixth.
Getting the start was Irwin, who went five innings before the Yellow Jackets knocked her out. Waters completed the game for Chattanooga throwing two innings and striking out one.
The contest began as a pitcher duel between Irwin and Adkins through the first three innings.
Georgia Tech broke through and changed the game with two outs in the fourth as Danielle Dike drilled a ball over the center field fence. Irwin was one pitch away from battling out of a jam and keeping the Yellow Jackets off the scoreboard.
The Yellow Jackets added to the lead in the fifth on a double by Kristine Priebe following a Rudnick single. Then Waters relieved Irwin in the sixth with two runners in scoring position and yielded a run.
To lead off the sixth, Poteat singled into left field and senior outfielder Lyndsey Stiles (Hixson, Tenn.) drew a walk to put two runners on. Following a groundout that enabled the runners to move up, Fuzzard hit a grounder to second scoring Poteat from third.[
In the seventh with two out, Kelsi Weseman connected on a solo shot to right field to end the scoring.
Adkins threw six innings for the Yellow Jackets and struckout eight, while Lindsey Anderson pitched the final frame and struckout two.
The Lady Mocs are back in action tomorrow at 1:30 p.m. against Florida Atlantic and 6:30 p.m. against Georgia Tech. Chattanooga wraps up the event on Sunday with a 1 p.m. meeting against Fordham. Live stats and audio can be found on the schedule page of GoMocs.com.
