The Chattanooga Mocs softball team beat Western Kentucky University 3-2 and dropped a 4-0 contest to kick off the Bulldog Slamboree in Starkville, Miss. UTC is 12-6 on the season.

"Considering we're facing some injuries, I thought we played pretty well today," head coach Frank Reed stated.

Chattanooga started the day with a win over WKU.

"We hung in there with Western Kentucky, had a good ball game, and pulled it out," said Reed.

The Lady Toppers and UTC each scored one run in the first inning. The Mocs had hits from seniors Alyssa Taylor and Anyssa Robles and freshman Jordan Fortel.

WKU retook the lead in the top of the third with a score by Lexie Norfleet.

In the fourth, Chattanooga tallied four hits. Freshman Katie Corum scored off an error and junior Jesslyn Stockard made it home off a single from senior Sam Taylor making it 3-2.

Alyssa Taylor, Fortel and Stockard led the squad with two hits each. Sam Taylor and senior Criket Blanco both had one RBI.

Fortel pitched the first four innings for the Mocs. Sophomore Kailey Palazzolo tossed the last three.

UTC ended the game with nine hits and no errors compared to WKU's seven and one respectively.

Chattanooga finished the day playing the host of the Bulldogs Slamboree, Mississippi State.

"We had some opportunities to score and held them to four runs," commented Reed. "We were close enough that we could have had a shot to win."

The Bulldogs got on the board with two runs in the first inning by Caroline Seitz and Mackenzie Toler.

Robles had the first hit for UTC in the top of the fourth with a single to left center.

Mississippi State added one run in the bottom of the fourth by Katie Anne Bailey.

In the fifth, freshman Alyssa Coppinger walked, followed by Stockard and Sam Taylor with hits. The bases were loaded, but the Bulldogs' pitcher Mackenzie Toler tossed two strikeouts.

The Bulldogs' Carmen Carter scored in the bottom of the sixth for the last run.

Palazzolo pitched for the first 3.1 innings. Fortel came to the circle during the fourth and struck out her first two batters she faced.

The Mocs had only one error on the day.

Chattanooga faces Longwood Saturday at 9:00 a.m. E.S.T. and Northwestern State at 11:30 a.m.

Check the softball schedule page on GoMocs.com for links to live stats.