CLEARWATER, Fla. - The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga softball team split the doubleheader on Saturday at the USF "The Game" Tournament at the Eddie C. Moore Complex beating Liberty (8-9), 14-6 in six innings, and falling to No. 21 Texas Tech (33-1) , 3-1. The Lady Mocs overcame a 6-2 deficit against the Flames with an eight-run fourth inning ignited by a three-run home run by junior shortstop Jessica Traxler (Chino Hills, Calif.) and capped by senior third baseman Tiffany Baker's (East Ridge, Tenn.) three-run shot.

Head Coach Frank Reed notched his 850th career victory against Libery and is currently in his 10th season with the Lady Mocs. Reed picked up 467 of those wins in 11 seasons at Chattanooga State.

The 19-5 mark is the best start in program history surpassing the 2001 squad that started 18-5 and lost its next three contests.

Leading the Lady Mocs on the day was senior center fielder Lyndsey Stiles (Hixson, Tenn.) going 3-for-5 with a walk and two hit by pitches. Fellow classmate right fielder Della Harrison (Nashville, Tenn.) went 4-for-7 with a home run, while junior catcher Vivian Morimoto (Sao Paulo, Brazil) and sophomore second baseman Sara Poteat (Thomaston, Ga.) registered three hits each.

In the circle, senior Kandice Irwin (Knoxville, Tenn.) recorded the win against the Flames throwing three innings of relief to improve to 8-1 on the season. Taking the loss in game two was senior Michelle Fuzzard (Huntington Beach, Calif.), who tossed four strong innings, but yielded three earned runs against the Red Raiders.

Chattanooga returns to action on Sunday with a contest against North Florida at Noon to conclude the three-day event in Clearwater, Fla. Live stats and audio will be available via the softball schedule page of GoMocs.com.

Game One: Chattanooga 14, Liberty 6 (6 Inn.)

Chattanooga had a slow start against Liberty falling behind 6-2 in the fourth, but the offense found its rhythm registering 15 hits and three home runs in the 14-6 victory at the USF "The Game" Tournament.

The round trippers were hit by Baker, Harrison and Traxler, each with at least one runner on base.

Leading the team offensively was Harrison going 3-for-4 with a home run, two RBI and three runs scored. Stiles, Poteat, Fuzzard, Morimoto and Traxler notched two hits against the Flames

Irwin picked up the victory to improve to 8-1 on the year, while fanning four Flames. Earning the start was senior Nikki Waters (Soddy Daisey, Tenn.), who struck out one in 3.0 innings of work.

The Flames struck for two runs in the first inning as a walk followed by three singles provided the lead.

Following a walk to start the bottom of the second, Harrison tied the contest at two on one swing of the bat lifting a pitch over the fence in center. It was the fifth of the season for the Nashville, Tenn., native.

The contest continued to go back and forth as Kelly Strickland took the first pitch over the fence down the left field line to give Liberty a 3-2 advantage in the third.

Liberty tacked on three runs on three hits in the fourth to increase its advantage to 6-2.

After a rough inning defensively, the Lady Mocs responded in a big way scoring eight runs on seven hits to take a 10-6 lead. It all began with a single through the left side by Harrison.

With two runners on following a walk to Morimoto, Traxler drove the first pitch she saw over the fence in left center. The blast was the second of the season for the Chino Hills, Calif., native and cut the deficit to 6-5.

Flores took first on a hit by pitch and the bases became loaded with infield singles by Stiles and Poteat. Tying the game was Fuzzard with a sacrifice fly to right as all the runners moved up a base. A three-run blast to straight-away center by Baker added to the Chattanooga lead, 10-6. The East Ridge, Tenn., native paces the Lady Mocs with seven homers on the season and is the career-leader with 39.

That was not all for Chattanooga as Harrison started a two-out rally with a single into left field. Morimoto followed it up with a single to right and Harrison advanced to third. A ball that was not fielded cleanly by the second baseman allowed for Harrison to add the final run of the frame.

Leading off the sixth, Morimoto hit a ground-rule double down the right field line. A walk to Traxler and a bunt single by senior right fielder Lauren Flores (Ft. Oglethorpe, Ga.) loaded the bases. Stiles was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded driving in Morimoto. Fuzzard ended the game with a single up the middle scoring Stiles and Flores as the Lady Mocs took an eight-run advantage, 14-6, putting the run rule into effect.

Game Two: No. 21 Texas Tech 3, Chattanooga 1

The Lady Mocs fought toe-to-toe and out-hit No. 21 Texas Tech, but fell short, 3-1, on Saturday. The Red Raiders scored their three runs on two homers and pitcher Kelsey Dennis was able to keep the Chattanooga offense in check with nine strikeouts.

In the circle, Fuzzard started the contest tossing two innings and striking out one and Irwin came on to finish the contest throwing the final two frames. Fuzzard was tabbed with the loss to fall to 8-4 on the season.

The offense was lead by Tydingco, who went 2-for-3, while five Lady Mocs also notched hits against the lefty Dennis. Morimoto drove in the only run for the Lady Mocs.

After the Lady Mocs left a runner on in the first, the high-powered Texas Tech offense struck as Emily Bledsoe hit a home run to center to provide the early lead.

In the second, Baker started it off by being hit by a pitch, then Tydingco beat out a bunt single. With a single down the right field line, Harrison loaded the bases. Morimoto knotted the contest at one with a single to center.

The bases remained loaded without an out, but Chattanooga was unable to take a lead of its own as Dennis notched the final two outs on strike outs.

Fuzzard and Dennis kept the teams off balance until the bottom of the fourth as a leadoff single by Cyndey Allen down the left field line put a runner on. Then with one out, Sandy James connected on what would be the game-winning home run to left center as Texas Tech took a 3-1 lead. Freshman catcher Natalie Powers (Gleenpool, Okla.) gunned down a would-be base stealer at second to end the frame. It was the third runner caught this season by the Gleenpool, Okla., native.

In the fifth, Chattanooga would start a two-out rally as Stiles and Poteat singled to the outfield. The runners were able to move into scoring position as Stiles sprinted to third on the single, but the Lady Mocs could not drive the runs home.

A great defensive play by Stiles ended the sixth for Texas Tech. The Hixson, Tenn., native went on a full-out sprint to right center, dove and stretched out going toward the wall for the second out of the frame. The runner on first was already headed to third and the centerfielder promptly threw the ball to first for the double play.

Traxler reached base in the seventh on a single to the shortstop, but two straight fly outs ended the game for Chattanooga.