CLEARWATER, Fla. --- The Chattanooga Mocs softball team is set to wrap up non-conference tournament play this weekend with six games in four days at the USF Invitational inside the Eddie C. Moore Softball Complex in Clearwater, Fla.

Chattanooga (17-5) matches up against Eastern Illinois (7-17) on Thursday at 11 a.m. before kicking off the weekend with a doubleheader against Wichita State (17-5) and LIU Brooklyn (13-8) on Friday at 4:45 and 7:15 p.m.

UTC will seek revenge against Seton Hall (8-10) on Saturday at 2 p.m. before completing the day's slate against North Dakota State (12-11) at 4:15 p.m. Sunday's finale is pegged for a 10 a.m. start against Buffalo (1-16).

Senior Emma Sturdivant and freshman Mariah Ramirez earned this week's Southern Conference Player and Pitcher of the Week honors, respectively, after their performances last weekend in Clearwater.

Sturdivant batted .462 (6-for-13) with three doubles, a triple, home run and three RBI while slugging at a 1.077% clip. Ramirez went 2-0 with a 0.88 ERA in 17.1 innings of work in the circle. She tossed a complete game, three-hit shutout with a career-high eight strikeouts in a 1-0 win over Holy Cross.

Halie Williamson and Aly Walker continued their hot starts to the 2019 season with successful weekends at the plate last weekend. Williamson finished the weekend batting .357 (5-for-13) with a double, three RBI and a run scored. She went 2-for-3 with an RBI in a 2-1 win over Western Michigan last Friday.

Walker went 5-for-12 (.416) with a homerun and RBI last weekend. She went 3-for-3 with a homerun, RBI and three runs scored during Sunday's game against Seton Hall. She recorded another multi-hit game in Saturday's contest against UCF where she went 2-for-3 with a run scored.

Full weekend information is below.

USF UNDER ARMOUR INVT'L | TICKETS
All games played at Eddie C. Moore Softball Complex. Information found at link above.
Thu, Mar. 14        vs. E. Illinois – 11 a.m.                 (LIVE STATS) (Field #2)
Fri, Mar. 15          vs. Wichita St. – 4:45 p.m.           (LIVE STATS) (Field #2)
Fri, Mar. 15          vs. LIU Brooklyn – 7:15 p.m.       (LIVE STATS) (Field #2)
Sat, Mar. 16         vs. Seton Hall – 2 p.m.                (LIVE STATS) (Field #1)
Sat, Mar. 16         vs. NDSU – 4:15 p.m.                 (LIVE STATS) (Field #2)
Sun, Mar. 17        vs. Buffalo – 10 a.m.                   (LIVE STATS) (Field #1)
 
CHATTANOOGA NOTABLE | GAME NOTES
- Chattanooga sits at 17-5 (.773) overall this season… winning percentage ranks 31^st across all NCAA DI entering the weekend… head coach Frank Reed sits just three wins shy of 1,100 in his collegiate coaching career between Chatt State and UTC.
- Three Mocs rank in the top 5 of the SoCon in batting average for the season… Aly Walker leads the league with a .394 mark… Halie Williamson ranks third (.380) and Emma Sturdivant sits fifth (.373).
- Chattanooga's Allison Swinford (1.58), Mariah Ramirez (2.35) and Celie Hudson (2.68) lead the SoCon in ERA this season… staff ERA of 2.33 leads the league and ranks 49^th in NCAA DI.
 
OPPONENT PREVIEWS
E. Illinois | Thursday, 11 a.m. | 2019: 7-17, 0-0 OVC
Chattanooga downed Eastern Illinois during the opening weekend of the season, 2-1, after Celie Hudson tossed a complete game three-hitter while striking out a career-high 10. EIU carries a 7-17 mark entering the week after going 3-3 in its first six games of the USF Invitational.

Mia Davis leads the offensive attack with team-highs in average (.344), home runs (4) and RBI (16) while McKenna Coffman anchors the pitching staff with a 2.50 ERA and three complete games in 50.1 innings.

Wichita State | Friday, 4:45 p.m. | 2019: 17-5, 0-0 AAC
Wichita State enters the weekend as one of the hottest teams in the collegiate softball world. The Shockers are 17-5 this season and coming off a three-game sweep over Nebraska last weekend in which they scored 23 runs and racked up 21 hits.

WSU features an explosive offensive unit in which the team carries a .315 batting average with 20 homeruns and 118 RBI. Eight of the nine projected starts carry a batting average of .295 or better. The pitching staff is just as impressive as the offense, holding a 2.19 ERA and a 1.10 WHIP while limiting opposing hitters to a .196 average.

LIU Brooklyn | Friday, 7:15 p.m. | 2019: 13-8, 0-0 NEC
LIU Brooklyn comes into the final weekend before conference play with a 13-8 overall record after a 3-2 weekend at the FAU/FIU Tournament last weekend. The Blackbirds captured wins over Florida A&M, Illinois State and Florida International by a combined four runs.

LIU Brooklyn defeated Chattanooga last season, 7-4, behind an early attack of seven runs over the first three innings. It will mark just the fourth meeting of the two teams when they take the field Friday since 1994. Elena Valenzuela carries the Blackbirds in the circle with a 7-2 record and 1.58 ERA in a team-high 66.2 innings.

Seton Hall | Saturday, 2 p.m. | 2019: 8-10, 0-0 BIG EAST
After 25 years of never meeting, Seton Hall and Chattanooga will meet for the second time in six days on Saturday. SHU earned a 7-6 back-and-forth win on Sunday after three defensive miscues from the UTC defense proved to be the difference.

Seton Hall is 8-10 this season and snapped a season-long, five-game skid with Sunday's win. The Pirates boast a powerful offense that ranks second in the country in doubles per game (2.11) and 58^th in slugging percentage (.459). Hailey Arteaga is batting .415 with 10 doubles and 14 RBI to lead SHU.

North Dakota St. | Saturday, 4:15 p.m. | 2019: 12-11, 0-0 Summit
North Dakota State has played to a 12-11 record this season and carries consecutive wins into the upcoming weekend. Chattanooga will meet NDSU for the first time and a Summit League opponent for the just the third time in its program's history on Saturday.

The Bison have been World travelers so far during the 2019 year, playing tournaments in Texas, California, Alabama, Florida and Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. Katie Shoultz leads the team with a .407 batting average and .439 OBP while KK Leddy carries a 7-6 record and 3.10 ERA in a team-most 79.0 innings.

Buffalo | Sunday, 10 a.m. | 2019: 1-16, 0-0 MAC
Buffalo has had a tough start to the 2019 season, falling in 16 of its first 17 games on the schedule. Of the 16 losses, six have come by one run while seven have come by two runs or less. Buffalo won the only matchup in the two program's history, 4-1, back in 2004.

Anna Aguon leads the team in batting average (.348), total bases (26) and OBP (.423%) while Hannah Bardeen has added team-bests in slugging percentage (.633) and RBI (10).


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