CHATTANOOGA, TENN. --- The Chattanooga softball team split the second day of the Chattanooga Challenge with an 8-3 win over Ohio in the opening game and falling 5-1 to Canisius in the nightcap.
 
Chloe Lackey went 3-for-5 (.600) for the day with a double and drove in two runs. Abi Bunt had a double and two RBI while Mia Leone and Baileigh Pitts each had a double and an RBI.
 
Taylor Long matched her season-high with 11 strikeouts in the win over the Bobcats, pitching all seven innings.
 
GAME 1: Chattanooga 8, Ohio 3
Taylor Long struck out 11 in a complete-game performance, and Chattanooga used a fast start at the plate to defeat Ohio 8–3 Friday afternoon at Jim Frost Stadium.
 
The Mocs opened the first inning with three runs on three hits, highlighted by RBI doubles from Baileigh Pitts, Chloe Lackey, and Abi Bunt, then added two more in the second to take early control at 5–0. Chattanooga finished with 12 hits and scored in four of the first five innings.
 
Lackey led the offense with a 3-for-3 day, driving in two and scoring twice. Pitts added two hits, an RBI and a walk, while Bunt drove in a pair as Chattanooga built an 8–2 lead through five.
 
Ohio got on the board in the fifth broke up Long's no-hit bid with a two-run homer. A seventh inning RBI rounded out the scoring for the Bobcats. Ohio managed just three hits against Long, who threw 154 pitches and allowed three earned runs with six walks.
 
 GAME 2: Canisius 5, Chattanooga 1
Canisius scored three runs in the opening inning and never trailed as the Golden Griffins defeated Chattanooga 5–1 in the final game of the Challenge.
 
Canisius jumped ahead early with a three‑run home run to right field in the top of the first, giving the visitors a 3–0 lead. The Golden Griffins added two more in the third—one on a passed ball and another on a groundout—to extend the margin to 5–0.
 
Chattanooga broke through in the fourth when pinch‑runner Izzy Carlyle scored on a throwing error following a dropped third strike, trimming the deficit to 5–1 for its lone run of the game.
 
Sophomore catcher Mia Leone provided two of Chattanooga's three hits, including a double in the fourth. Zoe Wright added the remaining hit with a single in the third.
 
Freshman right‑hander Emery Bales took the loss after allowing five runs—three earned—on five hits over four innings. Junior Sophia Guerra delivered a strong relief outing, working the final three innings without allowing an earned run.
 
Chattanooga moves to 5-4 overall and will return to action next Friday with the start of the annual Frost Classic. Sunday's games of the Chattanooga Challenge are canceled due to the threat of inclement weather.
 
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