CULLOWHEE, N.C. – The Chattanooga Mocs softball team used a late rally in game two and combined for 23 hits and 14 runs during a Sunday doubleheader sweep at Western Carolina to notch their fifth-straight Southern Conference victory.
Chattanooga downed WCU in game one, 10-2, before closing out the sweep in game two with a 4-2 win. The Mocs improve to 19-22 overall and 5-4 in SoCon play. It marks the first three-game SoCon sweep since March 27-28, 2015 (ETSU).
UTC trailed 2-1 heading into the top of the sixth inning during game two, but rallied to score three two-out runs.
Aly Walker,
Halie Williamson and
Alyssa Coppinger all recorded RBI in the inning to help lift the Mocs.
Full game recaps, stats and notes can be found below.
GM1 | Chattanooga 10, WCU (2)
After the first two hitters were retired in order, UTC loaded the bases with a hit-by-pitch, single and walk in the top of the first.
Aly Walker delivered with a two-RBI single down the left field line to give the Mocs an early 2-0 lead.
Chattanooga added to its lead in the top of the second when
Alyssa Coppinger started the inning off with a solo homerun to left field.
Brook Womack followed suit four batters later with a three-run homer off the foul pole in left, extending the lead to 6-0.
The Mocs went scoreless in the third inning ahead of solo homeruns in both the fourth and fifth innings.
Ashley Conner and
Katie Corum both launched homeruns over the left field fence to extend UTC's lead to 8-0.
J.J. Hamill added an RBI single up the middle in the top of the fifth inning before Womack was hit by a pitch to push across two more runs and put UTC ahead 10-0.
Western Carolina rallied for a pair of runs in the home half of the fifth, but a potential third run was thrown out at the plate by Coppinger from center field and allowed UTC to earn the mercy-rule 10-2 win.
Starting pitcher
Celie Hudson (8-10) earned her second win in as many games. She tossed all five innings and allowed six hits and three runs while striking out three.
Chattanooga belted out 12 hits and homered four times, the most homers in a game since May 8, 2016 (ETSU). Womack finished 2-for-3 with a homerun and four RBI while Hamill added a 2-for-4, RBI performance. Walker picked up two RBI after going 1-for-3.
GM2 | Chattanooga 4, WCU 2
Both squads went scoreless for the first two innings before Chattanooga got on the board in the top of the third. Coppinger started the inning off with a single and advanced to second on an
Amy Lewis sacrifice bunt. Hamill followed that up with an RBI double down the left field line to give the Mocs a 1-0 lead.
Western Carolina grabbed a 2-1 lead in the bottom of the fourth when a fielding error in the outfield allowed for a runner to score before a two-out bloop single into right field pushed across the second run.
Trailing 2-1, Chattanooga tied the game up at 2-2 in the top sixth on a two-out RBI single from Walker.
Halie Williamson followed with a pinch-hit RBI single of her own to give the Mocs a 3-2 lead. Coppinger added another run on a double to extend the advantage to 4-2.
That would be all UTC needed as starting pitcher
Allison Swinford (7-9) finished what she started. Swinford earned the win after tossing a complete game, allowing no earned runs and just four hits.
Chattanooga registered 11 hits in the win and totaled 32 hits for duration of the three-game series. Conner and Walker both finished 2-for-4 while each recording a double and combining for two runs scored and an RBI (Walker). Coppinger went 2-for-3 with an RBI.
» Season Stats & Notes
- First three-game SoCon sweep since March 27-28, 2015 (ETSU).
- Alyssa Coppinger launched her first homerun of the season, second of her career, in the second inning of GM1.
- Marks the 12th different Moc to homer this season, the most in program history.
- Chattanooga belted four homeruns during game one's 10-2 victory.
- Most homeruns for UTC in a game since May 8, 2016 (ETSU).
- Celie Hudson earned her second win in as many games in the circle during game one.
- In her last 11.1 innings pitched, she has allowed only nine hits and three earned runs while striking out six.
- Allison Swinford tossed a complete game and allowed just four hits and no earned runs.
- Her second complete game victory of the season & improved to 7-9.
- Aly Walker went a combined 3-for-7 during Sunday's doubleheader.
- She is on a current six-game hit streak & has recorded a pair of multi-hit games during that span.
- J.J. Hamill combined for a 3-for-8 performance on Saturday.
- Also on a current six-game hit streak & has reached base safely in her last seven.
» Up Next
Chattanooga hosts AUB for a non-conference game on Wednesday at 6 p.m. It'll be $1 hot dogs and Coca-Cola's at the stadium beginning at 5 p.m. and lasting throughout the game. Get your tickets now by visiting the schedule page or by calling 423-266-MOCS. UTC hosts SoCon foe Furman this upcoming weekend.
Follow @GoMocsSB on Twitter for the most up-to-date information regarding Chattanooga softball.
