Courtesy: Jeff Hurndon

Sophomore second baseman Sara Poteat snapped a 10-game hitting streak against Purdue.

East Tenn. St. at Chattanooga   Feb. 25, 2012

Chattanooga, Ten. (Frost Stadium)
Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	R	H	E
ETSU (2-10)	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	5	2
CHATT (7-4)	1	2	0	1	0	2	X	6	9	1

WP: Taylor Deason (5-2), Shelby Morris (0-4)

Purdue at Chattanooga   Feb. 25, 2012

Chattanooga, Tenn. (Frost Stadium)
Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	R	H	E
PURDUE (8-0)	0	0	5	0	0	1	0	6	10	1
CHATT (6-4)	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	5	4

WP: Lexy Moore (5-0) LP: Michelle Fuzzard (2-3)

Game Notes:

S

-

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. - The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga softball team opened the day with a 6-1 victory against East Tennessee State (2-10) on Saturday at the Frost Classic Inspired by Memorial before suffering a tough defeat to Purdue (8-0), 6-0. Senior pitcher and designated player Michelle Fuzzard (Huntington Beach, Calif.) and junior second baseman Sara Poteat (Thomaston, Ga.) were perfect against the Bucs, recording two and three hits, respectively, at Frost Stadium.

Leading the Lady Mocs in the circle against ETSU was freshman pitcher Taylor Deason (Clarksville, Tenn.), who tossed a complete game five hitter to improve to 5-2 on the year.  A few familiar faces were in the opposing dugout with former Chattanooga assistant Brad Irwin (2006-10) in his second year as head coach long with his graduate assistant Tiffany Baker (2008-11), who  etched herself in the UTC all-time record book with 50 career home runs.

The offense against the Bucs was fueled by senior catcher Vivian Morimoto (Sao Paulo, Brazil) and Fuzzard, each driving in two runs during the first game. Junior first baseman Kasey Tydingco (Fairfield, Calif.) added an RBI as well as Chattanooga tallied nine hits.

Receiving the starting nod against Purdue, who was receiving votes in both polls this week, was Fuzzard, and she threw five innings with two strikeout before Deason logged the final two frames.

The Lady Mocs were on the wrong side of an outstanding catch in left center by Maia Moncheck, who robbed freshman Nicole Osterman (Kissimmee, Fla.) of extra bases with three runners on base in the bottom of the second. The play ended up being a double play that eliminated all the momentum Chattanoog had built

One area that Chattanooga will be looking to improve upon is the error category as the team committed four during the contest, two of them lead to the five-run third for the Boilermakers.

Chattanooga returns to action to conclude the Frost Classic Inspired by Memorial on Sunday with a 1:15 p.m., contest against Dayton. Fans can follow all the action from the 12-team tournament through the above link to the tournament page with live stats and video. The Voice of Lady Mocs Softball, Tyler Brown, has the play-by-play call on MocsVision, a subscription-based video package.

Game One: Chattanooga 5, East Tennessee State 0

The scoring began quickly in the first as Annie Martin singled up the middle to begin the contest. Following a fielder's choice, the Bucs took advantage of a Lady Mocs' mistake that allowed two runners to be put in scoring position. An RBI-groundout from Katie Wolf put the Bucs ahead, 1-0, before Deason induced another groundout to end the frame.

In the bottom-half, Poteat led off legging out a single to short before stealing second. A walk to Fuzzard on four pitches put two runners on before an illegal pitch moved the runners up 60 feet. After Morimoto was nailed by a pitch, Tydingco knotted the contest at one with a sacrifice fly to center.

Chattanooga's offense struck for two in the second in taking a 3-1 lead. Osterman drew a walk to start the inning. The Lady Mocs took advantage of failed sacrifice bunt attempt from junior shortstop Ninjja Suetsugu (Sao Paulo, Brazil) to the pitcher, who overthrew the first baseman as the ball went down the right field line and allowed Osterman to take third. She scored three pitches later on a passed ball to put the Lady Mocs up 2-1.

A single up the middle by Poteat ignited a two-out rally by the Lady Mocs as Willis then beat-out an infield single to short. Fuzzard stepped to the plate and came through with a seeing-eye RBI single up that eluded the second baseman and shortstop, 3-1.

Both teams were quit until the fourth when sophomore outfielder Kaiti Dutton (Tulsa, Okla.) and Poteat connected on back-to-back singles, but Dutton was erased trying to advance to third. A Fuzzard double to left tacked on another run for Chattanooga, 4-1.

The contest remained close between the two squads heading into the sixth as Poteat drew a one-out walk and Fuzzard was walked, intentionally. Morimoto came through with a clutch two-RBI double, but would be out trying to take third, 6-1.

Shelby Morris tossed a complete game for the Bucs, notching two strikeouts, while Annie Martin put together a 3-for-3 performance.

Game Two: Purdue 6, Chattanooga 0

Each team went down quickly in the first, but Purdue stranded two runners in second following a single and error.

The Lady Mocs had an opportunity to draw first blood in the second as Morimoto and Tydingco were issued back-to-back lead-off walks. A single to right center by senior shortstop Jessica Traxler (Chino Hills, Calif.) loaded the bases with no outs as head coach Frank Reed held Morimoto at third.

With the bases full, Osterman sent the fifth pitch she saw on a line towards the left-center gap. The left fielder Maia Moncheck had a great read on the ball and stretched out towards center field to make the spectacular divincatch. Scoring on the play was Morimoto, but the game changed when the run was taken off the scoreboard on an appeal because the runner left early. The hard liner, which more than likely, would have scooted on the grass to the fence in left center would have scored three.

The Lady Mocs were unable to recover from the double play as they stranded three.

With the momentum swung in its favor, Purdue's Andie Varsho hit a rocket that second baseman Poteat knocked down for a single. A mistake by the shortstop on what could have been a double-play ball put two runners on base with one out. Rains hits a pitch into shallow right center that sophomore Stephanie Rieck (Chandler, Ariz.) stretched out for, but is unable to come up with the catch to load the bases.

Then, the Boilermakers strung together four hits, breaking the game wide-open with a five-spot in the frame.

In the Chattanooga-half of the inning, Fuzzard singled to right center, but would be stranded.

The next stanza Osterman had a two-out single to left, but the Lady Mocs were unable to string together back-to-back hits.

Extending their lead was the Boilermakers in the fifth taking advantage of two Chattanooga mistakes and a single, 6-0.

Another two-out hit was recorded by freshman outfielder Cheyenne Willis (Manchester, Tenn.), who pulled a pitch down the right field line into the corner as the speedster ran around the bases for a triple.

The Lady Mocs added their final hit in the bottom of the seventh as Rieck singled into the hole between first and second.

In the circle for Purdue, Katie Hackney and Lexy Moore, who improved to 5-0, combined for the shutout, while registering four strikeouts. The Boilermakers were led by Varsho, Rains and Moncheck with two hits each. Danielle Fletcher and Moncheck each drove in two runners.