CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. --- The Chattanooga softball team is headed south for The Spring Games in Madeira Beach, Fla. The Mocs will play five games in the Sunshine State.
 
GAME DAY INFORMATION
• Madeira Beach, Fla.
• ROC Park Field
• Friday, March 8
          10:00 a.m.              Troy (6-1) UTC is 1-4 against Troy. Last meeting 3/4/12, UTC lost 6-0.
          12:30 p.m.              Columbia (1-4) UTC is 1-0 against Columbia. Last meeting 3/12/16, UTC won 3-2.
• Saturday, March 9
          10:00 a.m.              Central Michigan (1-14) UTC is 3-2 against CMU. Last meeting 3/9/18. UTC won 6-3.
          12:30 p.m.              LIU (6-9) UTC is 3-0 against LIU. Last meeting 2/9/13. UTC won 6-4.
• Sunday, March 10                                                   
          10:00 a.m.              Manhattan (1-9). This will be the first meeting between the two programs.
 
FLOSOFTBALL
All games are available for a fee on FloSoftball.
 
LIVE STATS
Live stats will be available for all games. Links can be found online on the softball schedule page on GoMocs.com.
 
MOCS IN THE SOUTHERN CONFERENCE
Chattanooga sits in first in the Southern Conference through non-conference play with a 13-7 overall record. UTC leads the league with a .299 batting average and a .384 on-base percentage. The Mocs have a SoCon-best 27 sacrifice hits and lead the league with five shutouts and s124 strikeouts. UTC's fielding percentage (.976), double plays (13) and caught stealing (7) all lead the SoCon.
 
MOCS IN THE NCAA TOP 100 TEAM RANKINGS
12              Double plays per game (.65)
28              Fielding percentage (.975)
30              Shutouts (5)
69              Batting average (.299)
69              Total stolen bases (26)
70              On base percentage (.384)
71              Doubles (25)
74              Won-Loss percentage (.650)
84              Home Runs per game (.65)
85              Walks (56)
89              Slugging percentage (.432)
 
MOCS IN THE NCAA TOP 100 INDIVIDUAL RANKINGS
35              Caught Stealing                                          Jayce Purdy (5)
32              Hit by Pitch/game                                     Kaili Phillips (.30)
50              Hits allowed per 7 innings                   Taylor Long (4.13)
8                 Sacrifice Bunts/game                             Kailey Snell (.35)
43              Sacrifice Bunts/game                             Camryn Cernuto (.25)
54              Sacrifice Bunts/game                             Baileigh Pitts (.24)
84              Sacrifice Bunts/game                             Olivia Lipari (.20)
46              Sacrifice Hits                                                Addy Keylon (2)
71              Saves                                                                 Riley Lamb (1)
71              Saves                                                                 Alyssa Lavdis (1)
31              Strikeouts                                                        Taylor Long (57)
19              Strikeouts per 7 innings                        Taylor Long (9.4)
23              Victories                                                           Taylor Long (7)
46              Walks per game                                          Olivia Lipari (0.75)
 
MOCS NEWS AND NOTES
TAYLOR LONG NAMED TENN. SPORTS WRITERS ASSOCIATION PITCHER OF THEVWEEK
• Taylor Long picked up her second Pitcher of the Week award on March 5 from the Tennessee Sports Writers Association (TSWA). She recorded a 0.00 ERA in three appearances that included one complete-game start. She struck out 16 in 11.2 innings and allowed just two hits while picking up a pair of wins.
 
TAYLOR LONG, BAILEIGH PITTS EARN SOUTHERN CONFERENCE WEEKLY AWARDS
• Taylor Long picked up two wins in one start and three appearances over the weekend and was named the Southern Conference Pitcher of the Week (March 4). She allowed just two hits in 11.2 innings and recorded a 0.00 ERA. Long struck out 16 and walked seven.
• Baileigh Pitts posted a .500 batting average (7-for-14) over the weekend and a 1.000 slugging percentage. She had a homerun, triple and a double, drove in four runs and scored five and was named SoCon Player of the Week (March 4).
 
MOCS SWEEP ADAM BROWN MEMORIAL SHAMROCK CLASSIC
• Chattanooga swept four games at the Central Arkansas Adam Brown Memorial Classic. UTC got shutouts against the host Bears (5-0) and Saint Francis (5-0) in the first two games. In the second game against Central Arkansas, the Mocs picked up a 5-4 win, breaking a 4-4 tie in the fifth. On Sunday, UTC had a barrage of hits over the first three innnings, scoring 13 runs. The Red Flash scored four in the top of the fifth, but the Mocs held them off for a run-rule win.
 
FRANK REED CLAIMS CAREER WIN NUMBER 1,200
• Chattanooga head coach Frank Reed led the Mocs in a 4-2 win over Texas A&M Corpus Christi for his 1,200th career victory. He brought 476 in 11 years with him from Chattanooga State. Added to his 724 at UTC, he reached the 1200-win plateau on February 23, 2024. His win total encompasses 34 seasons combined between Chattanooga State and UTC.
 
MOCS SWEEP CHATTANOOGA CHALLENGE
• The Mocs won five straight games to claim the Chattanooga Challenge title Feb. 16-18 at Frost Stadium. UTC started with a sweep on the opening day of Ball State (11-7) and Western Kentucky 7-5 in a rain-shortened five innings. On Saturday, the Mocs beat Ball State 4-3 in eight innings then Murray State (3-2). On Sunday, UTC shutout North Alabama 5-0 for its fifth straight win.
 
LIPARI GOES YARD TWICE IN CHATTANOOGA CHALLENGE
• Junior Olivia Lipari hit .636 with a double and two home runs in the Chattanooga Challenge. She had a three-run shot against Ball State on the opening day and a two-run homer against Murray State on Day Two of the Challenge. She tallied six RBI on the weekend.
 
MOCS WIN IN FIRST EXTRA INNING GAME OF THE SEASON
• Trailing 2-0 heading into the bottom of the sixth against Ball State, the Mocs added a run in the bottom of the inning on an RBI single by Kendall Forsythe. The Cardinals added another run in the top of the seventh. Jayce Purdy led off with a single. Baileigh Pitts pinch-hit a doubled to right field putting runners at second and third. Purdy scored on a wild pitch and Kaili Phillips doubled to left field, driving home Cernuto who returned to the game to run for Pitts. In the eighth, the Mocs shut down Ball State. Olivia Lipari was placedon second. Shayha Glass moved her to second on a pinch-hit ground out. Anna Dovey pinch hit a single into right to drive in the game winner.
 
PHILLIPS HOLDS CHATTANOOGA LEAD FOR HIT BY PITCH
• Senior Kaili Phillips took over the Mocs hit by pitch record in just two seasons with 33. She owns the single-season mark as well with 18 in 2022. She was hit twice in the 2024 season-opening tournament in Lafayette, La., and twice more in the Chattanooga Challenge. She is now up to six on the year and 39 over her career, leads the SoCon and is 32^nd in the NCAA for hits by pitch per game (0.30).
 
MOCS FOURTH IN PRESEASON POLL
• Chattanooga was picked fourth in the preseason poll by the Southern Conference coaches. UNCG received four first place votes and received 46 points for first. Samford was second with 43 points and three first place votes while Mercer had the final vote and 34 points for third.
 
Preseason All-Conference
• Addy Keylon was selected to the SoCon Coach Preseason All-Conference First Team.
• Peja Goold, Jayce Purdy, Kaili Phillips and Olivia Lipari were named to the SoCon Coaches Preseason All-Conference Second Team.
 
RETURNING TO THE LINEUP
• Addy Keylon. The Mocs senior outfielder was named to the 2023 SoCon Postseason All-Conference First Team.
• Olivia Lipari. Junior outfielder was named to the SoCon Postseason All-Conference Second Team and SoCon All-Tournament.
• Kaili Phillips. Sixth-year senior named to the 2023 SoCon Postseason All-Conference Second Team. Mocs all-time leader for hit by pitch.
• Peja Goold [pitcher], Zoe Wright [infielder] are 2023 SoCon All-Freshman Team selections.
 
MOCS HOST ANNUAL TOURNAMENTS
• The Mocs swept the annual Chattanooga Challenge beating all five opponents. UTC beat Ball State in the opener (11-7) and again in their third game (4-3/8). Rain ended the Mocs game against Western Kentucky in five inninngs (7-5). UTC went on to claim wins over Murray State (3-2) and North Alabama (5-0).
• UTC went 2-3 in the annual Frost Classic. The Mocs beat Texas A&M Corpus Christi 4-2 to get Frank Reed his 1,200th career win before falling to Georgetown (1-3) later that day. A win over Valpo (8-0) ended in six innings and UTC fell to Ohio to end Saturday. A loss to UT Martin 2-0 closed out the weekend.
 
TOURNAMENT TRIPS
• The Mocs opened the season at the 38th Annual Louisiana Classics [Feb. 8-10] in Lafayette, La. UTC went 1-4 with a win over New Mexico while losing to #21 Louisiana and California twice each.
• Chattanooga swept the Adam Brown Memorial Shamrock Classic [Mar. 1-3] hosted by Central Arkansas in Conway, Ark., beating the host 5-0 on the first day and 5-4 in the second game on Day Two. The Mocs shutout Saint Francis 5-0 in the first game on the second day and 13-4 in five inning on the last day.
• Headed for warmer waters, the Mocs will travel to Madeira Beach, Fla., for the Madeira Beach Invitational March 8-10. The Mocs will take on Troy and Columbia on the first day. The next day, UTC will face Central Michigan and Long Island University. The tournament will wrap against Manhattan on Sunday.