CHATTANOOGA – The Chattanooga Mocs softball team gets set to host Austin Peay on Wednesday evening at 6 p.m. before heading to Cullowhee, N.C., for a three-game SoCon series at Western Carolina on Saturday and Sunday.
Chattanooga is coming off a series win over Samford where they took two out of three games from the Bulldogs for the first time since 2012. The Mocs are now 16-21 overall and 2-4 in SoCon play, good enough for fourth in the standings.
The matchup between UTC and Austin Peay will be broadcasted LIVE on ESPN3 through the WatchESPN App platform with a 6 p.m. first pitch time. Tickets can be purchased on GoMocs.com by visiting the schedule page.
Saturday's doubleheader at Western Carolina will be broadcasted LIVE on the SoCon Digital Network. Sunday's series finale will not be available for streaming. Live stats are also available for all three games and can be found on the schedule page.
Full opponent previews and Chattanooga game notes can be found below.
» Previewing: Austin Peay (20-10, 5-1 OVC)
Austin Peay has played to an impressive 20-10 overall record and has won five of their first Ohio Valley Conference games this season. The Governors rank in the top five of the OVC in batting average, runs, RBI and earned run average.
UTC and APSU have had their last three scheduled meetings washed out. The last meeting came back on February 20, 2010, where Chattanooga earned a shutout 9-0 victory.
Austin Peay's offense is led by Danielle Liermann, who carries an impressive .404 (36-for-89) batting average, 13 homeruns and 36 RBI. Her 13 homeruns rank first in the OVC while the 36 RBI lands her second. The Governors carry a 2.35 ERA as a staff as Kelly Mardones (1.93) and Morgan Rackel (2.03) have combined for 15 complete games and five shutouts.
» Previewing: Western Carolina (8-17, 0-3 SoCon)* as of 4/2
After starting the conference season on a bye week, Western Carolina opened up league play last weekend with a three-game series against UNCG. The Catamounts were swept by the league-leading Spartans, but dropped a pair of close games, 3-0 and 9-7, in games two and three, respectively.
WCU is led by 2017 All-Southern Conference Second Team selection Madison Armstrong. She leads the team with a .318 (21-for-66) batting average and has driven in a team-high 13 RBI while sitting second on the squad with three homeruns.
In the circle, the Catamounts are anchored by true freshman Haley Brogden. Brogden has appeared in 12 games and carries a 2.45 ERA with 30 strikeouts in 40.0 innings pitched. She has limited opposing hitters to a .253 batting average.
» Chattanooga Team Notes | Game Notes
- The Chattanooga Mocs offense ranks at the top, or near the top, of the SoCon in almost every offensive category.
- The Mocs are batting .289 (3rd) and have slugged at a .405 clip (3rd) while reaching base at a .363 percentage (3rd).
- The team's 282 hits is 17 more than the next SoCon team (UNCG) and the 150 RBI, 47 doubles & 395 total bases all rank second in the league.
- After dropping game one by a 15-2 count, the Chattanooga Mocs softball team rebounded with a pair of victories in games two & three, 11-6 & 9-6 respectively, to earn their first SoCon series win since April 23, 2016.
- Limited to two hits in game one, the Mocs belted out a combined 19 hits (11, 8), including a pair of both homeruns and doubles, in the final two games to help clinch the series.
- UTC improved to 16-21 overall and 2-4 in the SoCon.
» Chattanooga Individual Notes | Game Notes
- Senior infielder Brook Womack has been on an offensive rip for the entire month of March and beyond. Womack leads the SoCon with a .400 batting average and ranks second in slugging % (.622), on-base % (.481), third in total bases (56) and fourth in RBI (26).
- For the month of March, she batted a blistering .453 (29-for-64) with three doubles, five homeruns, 15 runs scored and 21 RBI in 23 games.
- Womack recorded ten multi-hit games including a stretch of six-straight where she belted two homeruns and racked up 11 RBI. The Mocs went 5-1 during that span.
- Junior first baseman Emma Sturdivant finished with three RBI and roped a go-ahead two-RBI double in the top of the seventh during the 11-6 victory in game two. She followed that up with a three-run HR in game three's 9-6 win.
- For the season, Sturdivant ranks seventh in RBI (23) and tenth in batting average (.318) in the SoCon.
- Freshman pitcher Paige Peterson entered game three with the bases full of Bulldogs and the tying run at the plate with one out in the bottom of the sixth.
- Up 9-5, Peterson allowed a lead-off walk, but induced a soft pop-out and a ground ball to third, ending the Samford threat and keeping the Mocs in front 9-6.
- She came back out to the circle in the seventh and sat Samford down in order, earning her second save of the season.
- Peterson has tossed 7.2 innings of relief this season and carries a 0.92 ERA while allowing just six hits and one earned run with two saves.
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