The Chattanooga Mocs softball team dropped contests to Michigan State 4-0 and Georgia 10-4 on the first day of the Holy City Showdown in Charleston, S.C. UTC moves to 13-11.

"We're not hitting on all of our cylinders," head coach Frank Reed stated. "We're trying to find ways to adjust through the injuries we're facing."

Senior Criket Blanco hit a three-run homer against the Bulldogs, Chattanooga's second ranked opponent of the season, to give the Mocs a 3-1 lead in the fourth inning.

"It was a great pick-me-up," commented Reed. "But we need to learn how to sustain a lead."

Georgia is ranked No. 10 by USA Today and NFCA Coaches and No. 12 from ESPN.com and USA Softball.

The Bulldogs' had the first lead when Samantha LaZear scored in the opening inning off a single from Tina Iosefa.

In the fifth, Georgia scored a run to cut UTC's lead to one, 3-2.

Then, the Bulldogs had three singles in a row and scored eight times in the bottom of the sixth to take the lead 10-3.

Junior Jesslyn Stockard scored in the seventh, bringing the score to 10-4.

Sophomore Kailey Palazzolo pitched for 5.1 innings, fanning three strikeouts.

In the first game of the day, the Spartans came out strong offensively, scoring one run in the first and fourth and two in the third.

With the Mocs' first hit, senior Alyssa Taylor singled to the shortstop in the bottom of the fourth. Senior Anyssa Robles followed with a single through the left side.

Sophomore Ashley Conner tallied a hit in the fifth, and Blanco doubled to left field in the seventh.

Freshman Jordan Fortel pitched a complete game, tossing two strikeouts.

Stockard led the squad with putouts in both matchups, including a game-best 12 over Michigan State and seven against the Bulldogs.

Blanco and Sam Taylor had three hits on the day. Robles followed with two.

The Mocs square off with Columbia Saturday at 10:00 a.m. (E.S.T.) and College of Charleston at Noon.

Check the softball schedule page on GoMocs.com for links to live stats and video against the Cougars.