CHATTANOOGA – The Chattanooga Mocs softball team is set to open up Southern Conference action this weekend by hosting the Mercer Bears for a three-game series on Saturday and Sunday at Jim Frost Stadium.
All three games will be streamed LIVE on ESPN3 through the WatchESPN platform. Chattanooga is 300-127 (.703) all-time in SoCon games and leads all league members with 14 regular season titles, 13 tournament crowns and ten appearances in the NCAA Tournament.
Saturday's action features a doubleheader beginning at 1 p.m. before the series finale on Sunday at 2 p.m. Tickets are available for purchase on GoMocs.com, on the schedule page or by calling the ticket office at (423) 266-MOCS.
Full series preview and notes can be found below. Follow @GoMocsSB for the most up-to-date information regarding Chattanooga softball.
Previewing: Mercer (19-10)
Mercer enters the weekend with a 19-10 record and have recorded non-conference wins over Michigan State, Rutgers and Georgetown. They took two of three games from UTC last season and finished fifth in the league with a 9-9 record.
The Bears are led by junior Megan Lane and senior Meghan Rud. Lane ranks fourth in both batting average (.347) and slugging percentage (.600) while sitting second in runs scored (23). Rud has been nearly unstoppable on the base paths, going 14-for-15 in stolen base attempts this season. She is 104-for-114 for her career and has set numerous school records in the process.
Mercer carries a 2.88 staff ERA and features three pitchers with a sub-3.00 ERA in double-digit appearances. Megan Bilgri is 7-4 with a 2.84 ERA in a team-high 69.0 innings pitched while Jill McElderry has chipped in with a 6-2 record and a team-best 2.66 ERA in 52.2 innings. Stella Preston has tossed 50.1 innings and holds a 4-3 record with a 2.78 ERA.
Chattanooga Team Notes | Game Notes
- Chattanooga wrapped up non-conference tournament play last week at the USF Under Armour Invitational in Clearwater, Fla. They played 11 games in ten days and finished with a 6-5 record to up their overall record to 14-17.
- Four of the five losses were by a combined five runs, three of which were one-run contests.
- The Mocs batted a blistering .344 (109-for-317) with seven homeruns and 53 RBIs as a team over the span of 11 games.
- UTC combined for 39 hits and 25 runs during a three-game win streak. The 39 hits are the most in a three-game stretch since April 21-22, 2012.
- Chattanooga now leads the Southern Conference and ranks 54th across Division I with a .296 team batting average. They also lead the SoCon in hits (241) and doubles (43) while ranking second in on-base percentage (.366) and fourth in runs (137).
- The Mocs pitched to a 3.26 ERA as a staff in Clearwater and held opponents to a .266 batting average.
Chattanooga Individual Notes | Game Notes
- Brook Womack caught fire in Florida, batting an impressive .528 (19-for-36) with three homeruns, 13 RBI and ten runs scored in 11 games.
- She now leads the league with a .413 average and ranks second in hits (31), third in on-base percentage (.457) and fourth in slugging percentage (.600).
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- Weissenbach now leads the SoCon with 32 hits this season.
- Pitcher Allison Swinford had a solid week in Clearwater after appearing in nine of the 11 games. Swinford tossed 38.2 innings and allowed just 15 earned runs, pitching to a 2.72 ERA while striking out 23.
- Struck out career-high six vs. Elon.
- Tossed a complete game, three-hit shutout in a 6-0 win over Maine before going the distance against FGCU (24-5); allowing just four hits and two earned runs while striking out three.
- Earned her second save of the season after throwing a clean seventh inning against Army in a 6-5 win.
