MACON, Ga. --- The Chattanooga Mocs softball team split a doubleheader with Mercer on the opening day of Southern Conference play as they won 4-3 in game one and fell 7-1 in the second on Saturday afternoon at Sikes Field.

With the split, the Mocs are now 10-21 overall and 1-1 in the Southern Conference. They'll conclude the three-game series tomorrow at 1:00 p.m.

Game 1 Recap | Chattanooga 4, Mercer 3
Chattanooga scored all four of its runs in the top of the first with three of them being earned. The trio of Hayleigh Weissenbach, J.J. Hamill and Aly Walker led the game off with singles to load the bases and Ashley Conner followed that up with a walk to plate the first run. Jesslyn Stockard added the fourth single of the inning to drive home Hamill and give the Mocs a 2-0 lead. After a strikeout, UTC scored two more runs on a throwing error from the Mercer shortstop which pushed the lead to 4-0. The Mocs would leave the bases loaded after a line-out ended the threat.

The Bears would chip away at their deficit with a run in the bottom of the third on an RBI double to the gap in right-center. They added a pair of runs in the bottom of the fifth to cut it to 4-3, but stranded three runners as Celie Hudson struck out a batter to end the inning. Mercer would leave a pair of runners on in the bottom of the seventh and ended the game with a fly out to right field.

Celie Hudson (1-0), who made her collegiate debut returning from injury, tossed all 7.0 innings and allowed seven hits, three runs (one earned) while striking out three. In the process of earning her first career win, the true freshman threw 118 total pitches.

Chattanooga belted eight hits as a team, but also left nine on base. Walker led the way going 3-for-4 and scoring a run while Stockard drove in a run going 2-for-4 at the plate. Katy Richardson finished 1-for-2 and picked up her third double of season while Weissenbach extended her hitting streak to 11 games as the freshman went 1-for-4.

Game 2 Recap | Mercer 7, Chattanooga 1
Mercer scored the game's first run in the bottom of the third on a wild pitch with two outs that scored a runner from third. Chattanooga knotted the game up at 1-1 in the top of the fourth on a Richardson single in the hole between short and third.

The Bears exploded for six runs in the home half of the fourth on the help of five hits and two UTC errors to build a 7-1 lead. That lead would remain at six runs for Mercer as they shut out the Mocs the rest of the way.

Alex Connell (1-9) suffered the loss for Chattanooga as she tossed 3.1 innings, allowing five hits, five runs (three earned) while facing 18 batters. Maddy Adams came in relief of Connell and threw 2.2 innings while giving up four hits and two runs (both unearned).

The Mocs pounded out seven hits, but left nine on base for the second-straight game. Conner posted another 2-for-3 game at the dish with a double and run scored. Halie Williamson also went 2-for-3 and smacked a double off the left-center wall. Richardson was 1-for-2 and picked up the lone RBI while walking once. Walker went 1-for-4 and notched her sixth double of the season.

Season Stats & Notes Update Thru Saturday
- Celie Hudson made her collegiate debut in Game 1 ... earned CG win ... last Mocs freshman to earn CG win in debut was Kailey Palazzolo on Feb. 6, 2015.
- Ashley Conner went 2-for-4 on Saturday ... scored two runs ... added RBI and double ... now hitting .393 (35-for-89) on the year.
- Aly Walker was 4-for-8 ... scored a run and notched a double ... .341 (31-for-91) this season.
- Katy Richardson went 2-for-4 ... now on a current six-game hit streak ... 16-for-44 (.364) on the year.
- Hayleigh Weissenbach recorded a hit in Game 1 ... marked 11-straight games with a hit ... tied for longest hit streak since 2014.

Upcoming Schedule
Sunday, March 26 - at Mercer 1:00 p.m.
Wednesday, March 29 - at Tennessee State 6:00 p.m.
Saturday, April 1 - vs. Samford* (DH) 1:00 p.m. FROST STADIUM
Sunday, April 2 - vs. Samford* 2:00 p.m. FROST STADIUM
*- Southern Conference