OXFORD, Ms. --- The Chattanooga Mocs softball team had its memorable 2019 season come to a close after falling 2-1 to Southeast Missouri State in the first elimination game of the NCAA Tournament, Oxford Regional, on Saturday afternoon on the campus of Ole Miss.
 
Chattanooga finishes the season 37-17 (.685) following the loss. The 37 wins are the most since 2012 while the WL percentage is the best since 2015. SEMO improves to 46-17 and advances to face No. 11 seed Ole Miss in the second elimination game of the regional.
 
BOX SCORE » SEMO 2, Chattanooga 1
Freshman Mariah Ramirez earned the start in the circle for Chattanooga in the team's second elimination game of the season (SoCon Championship) after tossing a pair of solid innings last night.
 
Ramirez retired six of the first seven SEMO hitters to begin the game, allowing just a two-out walk in the top of the second. She struck out a pair during the opening stretch.
 
Devan Brown provided a spark for the offense in the top of the third, belting a leadoff homerun over the left field seats to put UTC ahead 1-0. The round tripper was Brown's second of the season while it was the team's fifth of the leadoff variety.
 
SEMO's Ashley Ellis belted her 17^th homerun of the season, a solo shot, in the bottom of the fourth to tie the game up 1-1. The OVC-champs ranked 25^th in NCAA DI with a 1.18 homeruns per game average entering Saturday.
 
The Redhawks took a 2-1 lead in the fifth on a Mykaela Arellanes RBI single up the middle. An error on a stolen base attempt at second allowed the runner to advance to third before scoring on the single.
 
Morgan Kazerooni led the sixth inning off with a pinch-hit single to right to create some momentum. Chattanooga couldn't string together a rally behind Kazerooni's single and left a runner stranded after a 4-3 double play ended the inning.
 
Williamson roped a two-out single to left in the top of the seventh, sparking late hope for UTC. A pop-out two pitches later ended any comeback efforts.

Ramirez (12-3) suffered the loss in the circle despite tossing a complete game and allowing just two earned runs and six hits. She struck out three while walking two.
 
Notable performances: Mariah Ramirez (CG, 2ER, 3K), Halie Williamson (2-for-3), Devan Brown (1-for-2, HR, RBI)

POST-GAME PRESSER | WATCH | QUOTES
Head Coach Frank Reed and student-athletes Amanda Beltran, Emma Sturdivant and Halie Williamson talk with the media following Saturday's season-ending loss to SEMO. You can watch or read up on the quotes at the links above.
 
REGIONAL UPDATES
1. #17 Ole Miss (38-17) - #11 Seed – 1-1
2. #7 Louisiana (51-4) – 2-0
3. SE Missouri State (45-17) – 1-1
4. Chattanooga (37-16) – 0-2 – ELIMINATED

Friday, May 17^th
GM1: Louisiana 3, Southeast Mo. St. 2
GM2: No. 11 Ole Miss* 12, Chattanooga 0 (5)

Saturday, May 18^th 
GM3: Louisiana 2, No. 11 Ole Miss 0
GM4 : SEMO 2, Chattanooga 1
GM5 : No. 11 Ole Miss vs. SEMO | 6 p.m.

Sunday, May 19^th 
GM6: Game 3 winner vs. Game 5 winner | 3 p.m.
GM7 (if necessary): Game 6 winner vs. Game 6 loser | 5:30 p.m.

UP NEXT
Chattanooga softball's 2019 season has ended. UTC will kick-start the 2019-20 Fall season in September. Stick with GoMocs.com for all the recent news and schedule updates regarding the program.

Please follow @GoMocsSB on Twitter for the most up-to-date information regarding Chattanooga softball including schedule changes, highlights and more.