Courtesy: Jeff Hurndon

Senior Tiffany Baker drove in five RBI and connected on a three-run home run.

Chattanooga at Furman April 22, 2011

Greenville, S.C. (Pepsi Stadium)
Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	R	H	E
UTC (30-12, 12-3 SoCon)	2	0	1	2	0	6	0	12	12	2
FUR (14-26, 6-10 SoCon)	1	0	2	0	2	2	0	7	9	4

WP: Kandice Irwin (9-3) LP: Kayla Suskauer (9-10)

 

The Lady Mocs wore baby blue armbands during the game and the remainder of the season in remembrance of Amanda Swartout, who lost her battle with cancer on Tuesday and was an honorary teammate through the Friends of Jaclyn Program.

Chattanooga improved to 30-12 overall and 11-3 in the Southern Conference, while Furman fell to 14-26 and 6-10 in the league.

Notching multi-hit games were junior first baseman Kasey Tydingco (Fairfield, Calif.), senior left fielder Lauren Flores (Ft. Oglethorpe, Ga.) and Baker. Seven different Lady Mocs registered an RBI during the contest.

Starting the game in the circle was junior Michelle Fuzzard (Huntington Beach, Calif.), who tossed three innings and struck out three. Senior Kandice Irwin (Knoxville, Tenn.) picked up the victory to improve to 9-3 on the season by finishing the contest and fanning two opposing hitters.

Following a walk to Stiles in the first, the Hixson, Tenn., native stole second and third base to extend her SoCon leading total to 28. Sophomore second baseman Sara Poteat (Thomaston, Ga.) then drew a walk and Fuzzard reached on an error by the shortstop to load the bases. A double off the top of the fence in straight-away center put Chattanooga up, 2-0.

Senior right fielder Della Harrison's (Nashville, Tenn.) sacrifice fly extended the Lady Mocs lead to 3-0 as Fuzzard scored from third.

Furman took advantage of two Chattanooga mistakes to cut the lead to two, 3-1, but Fuzzard notched two-straight strikeouts to end the frame.

Following walks to Fuzzard and Morimoto in the third, Tydingco doubled to right center as the Lady Mocs increased their lead to 4-1.

With Jessie Homesley on base after a single, Morgan Huey connected on her 19^th career home run and third of the season to come within a run of tying the contest, 4-3, in the third.

In the fourth, Flores led off with a single to left and took second on a wild pitch. After Poteat drew her second walk of the game, Baker delivered a two-out, two-RBI single through the left side and Chattanooga added to its advantage, 6-3.

A two run fifth for Furman cut the Lady Mocs lead to 6-5 as Huey and Hannah Pace record a RBI. Second baseman Poteat ensured that the Paladins left a runner stranded at third as she made a backhand stab on a ball hit into the hole and the throw beat the runner to first by half a step.

With one out in the sixth, Stiles singled down the left field line and Poteat reached first on a sacrifice bunt that was not fielded cleanly by the third baseman. A double by Fuzzard down the left field line that one hopped the fence plated the first run of the inning.

The next batter Baker put Chattanooga up for good, 10-5 with a three-run shot over the fence in left center. It was the 44th of her career and 12th this season.

The Lady Mocs were not done as Morimoto singled to center and Tydingco advanced to first on an error. Freshman right fielder Kaiti Dutton (Tulsa, Okla.) singled to third loading the bases. Delivering an RBI single up the middle was junior shortstop Jessica Traxler (Chino Hills, Calif.), who increased the Chattanooga lead to 11-5. A Flores single to center plated the six run of the inning for the Lady Mocs.

During the sixth, the Paladins responded with a walk and bunt single as Nikki Legg singled to left center cutting the Lady Mocs lead to 12-7.

Tossing the complete game for the Paladins was Kayla Suskauer, who struck out two during the contest. Huey, on senior day, paced the team with a 3-for-4 performance and three RBI, while Stephanie Field and Jessie Homesley each picked up two hits. Nikki Legg had two RBI for Furman.

The Lady Mocs return to action in Greenville, S.C., on Saturday with a doubleheader scheduled for 11 a.m. Live stats and an audio broadcast are available on GoMocs.com through the softball schedule page.

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