CHATTANOOGA – The Chattanooga Mocs' softball team swept the Furman Paladins at Frost Stadium on Saturday afternoon to open Southern Conference action. The Mocs defeated the Paladins 6-3 in game one before securing a come-from-behind 7-4 win in game two of the doubleheader.
 
Chattanooga improved to 18-14 overall and 2-0 in SoCon action, while Furman lost its ninth straight, dropping to 9-17, 0-2.  
 
The Mocs and the Paladins conclude the three-game set tomorrow, March 27 at 2 p.m.

GAME ONE RECAP
Chattanooga struck first with two runs in the opening frame. The Mocs executed a double steal with Emily Coltharp on third and Kailey Snell on first to score the first run. Snell scored on an Acelynn Sellers groundout.
 
In the second inning, Furman got on the board with a two-out RBI double to the right center gap.
 
The Mocs' bats sparked again in the fourth with Liz Rodebuagh driving in Sellers with a double to left and two batters later, Rodebaugh scored on a Presley Williamson double to the right field wall.
 
Sellers plated two more in the fifth on one swing. The freshman blasted her second home run of the season, a two-run blast over the right field wall to give Chattanooga a 6-1 lead.
 
Furman got a run back in the sixth, but with runners on the corners and two outs, the Paladins attempted a double steal and the Mocs' defense shut it down.
 
In the top of the seventh, Furman put two on and scored a run with one out to cut its deficit to three and the Mocs brought Hannah Wood in for the save. She set down the next two batters to secure the win 6-3 win for Chattanooga.
 
Brooke Parrott got the start and pitched 6.1 innings, allowing three runs on eight hits with a pair of strikeouts and four walks. Wood closed the door retiring the final two batters, garnering her second save of the season and the third of her career.
 
Sellers went 2-for-3 with two extra-base hits and three RBI. Coltharp also recorded two hits and a pair of stolen bases.

UTC 6, FUR 3 | BOX
SCORING PLAYS
B1st: Kailey Snell stole second, advanced to third on a throwing error by c; Emily Coltharp stole home. (UTC 1-0)
B1st: Acelynn Sellers grounded out to short, Kailey Snell scored. (UTC 2-0).
T2nd: Chloe Fabio doubled down the left field line, RBI; Natalie Morgan scored. (UTC 2-1).
B4th: Liz Rodebaugh doubled down the left field line, RBI; Acelynn Sellers scored. (UTC 3-1).
B4th: Presley Williamson doubled to right field, RBI; Liz Rodebaugh scored. (UTC 4-1).
B5th: Acelynn Sellers homered to right, 2 RBI; Kailey Snell scored. (UTC 6-1).
T6th: Alex Molinar tripled to right center, RBI; Emily Bartlett scored. (UTC 6-2).
T7th: Kaitlyn Laudick singled up the middle, RBI; Chloe Fabio scored. (UTC 6-3)

WP: Brooke Parrott (9-2)
LP: Sierra Tufts (5-8)
Save: Hannah Wood (2)

Notable: 

• Chattanooga has homered in seven straight games dating back to Tuesday, March 15 vs. Georgia State. It's the longest streak for the team since UTC hit a home run in each of the last eight games to end the 2016 season.
• Olivia Lipari had her on-base streak of 13 games snapped.

GAME TWO RECAP
Furman scored first in the second game with three runs, one earned in the first frame. After the Paladins' leadoff batter reached on an error, she scored two batters later on an RBI double. The visitors plated two more in the inning on another double and a groundout.  
 
The Mocs got on the board in the second inning as Williamson drove in Kaili Phillips with a groundout to short. In the top of the fifth, Furman extended the its lead as Becca Crawford scored on a passed ball.
 
In the bottom of the fifth, Chattanooga's bats came alive. Sellers came through again, this time with the bases loaded. She singled up the middle, scoring two and another run scored on a Paladin throwing error. Two batters later, Rodebaugh gave the hosts the lead with an RBI single to center. In the bottom of the sixth, Olivia Lipari doubled, plating Chattanooga's final runs of the day and taking a 7-4 lead.
 
Alyssa Lavdis picked up her first career win in 5.2 strong innings in relief. She allowed one unearned run on three hits with three strikeouts and a walk.
 
Sellers continued her offensive performance with two hits and two RBI. Snell notched the fourth three-hit game this season and scored twice.
 
Phillips had the other multi-hit game for Chattanooga, scoring once with two hits.
 
The top four batters in Furman's lineup registered four of the teams seven hits and scored all four runs.  

UTC 7, FUR 4 | BOX
SCORING PLAYS
T1st: Emily Bartlett doubled to left center, RBI; Ashlee Lykins scored, unearned. (FUR 1-0)
T1st: Riley Ludlam doubled to right center, RBI; Emily Bartlett scored. (FUR 2-0)
T1st: Alex Molinar grounded out to shortstop, RBI; Riley Lundham scored, unearned. (FUR 3-0)
B2nd: Presley Williamson grounded out to shortstop, RBI; Kaili Phillips scored. (FUR 3-1)
T5th: Emily Bartlett scored on a passed ball, unearned. (FUR 4-1).
B5th: Acelynn Sellers singled up the middle, 2 RBI; Emily Coltharp and Kailey Snell scored. Olivia Lipari scored on a throwing error by c. (Tied 4-4)
B5th: Liz Rodebaugh singled up the middle, RBI; Acelynn Sellers scored. (UTC 5-4).  
B6th: Olivia Lipari doubled to left center, 2 RBI, Kailey Snell and Adison Keylon scored, both unearned. (UTC 7-4).  

WP: Alyssa Lavdis (1-0)
LP: Lauralee Scott (2-6)

Notable: 

• The Mocs begin SoCon play 2-0 for the first time since 2019. They also opened the league season vs. Furman that year.
• Coltharp extended her team-leading on-base streak to 13 games with hits in both contests.
• Sellers now has eight multi-RBI games and six multi-hit games this season.
• Chattanooga trailed after the second inning for the tenth time this season. The team is now 2-8 in those situations.
• With three stolen bases in today's doubleheader, Coltharp moved into sole possession of fourth all-time with 43 career stolen bases. She's one shy of third place, held by Leah Tucker '01 with 44.

 
Series history:
Chattanooga leads the all-time series 62-24.

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