chattanooga MOCS

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. --- The Chattanooga softball team swept Furman Saturday afternoon at Frost Stadium with a six-inning walk-off on a home run and a 10-inning walk-off, scoring the ghost runner. The Mocs improve to 21-27-1 overall and 9-11 against the Southern Conference. Furman falls to 13-38 on the year and 5-15 in conference play.
 
Baileigh Pitts drove in four runs on two hits, a home run, four walks and a sac fly. Zoe Wright went 2-for-5 with a triple and two RBI while scoring three runs. Chloe Lackey had three hits, including a double and scored three runs.
 
Taylor Long struck out nine over both games and went 2-0 Saturday. She went the distance in the opener and threw 5.2 innings in the nightcap.
 
GAME ONE: Chattanooga 9, Furman 0 / 6 innings
Chattanooga scored a run in the second and third innings before pulling away in the fourth with four runs. Another run in the fifth made it a 7-0 lead and Baileigh Pitts crushed a two-run homer in the sixth for the walk-off.
 
Annika Segedi led off the sixth with a single and rounded the bases on Pitts drive into deep center for the Mocs eighth walk-off of the season.
 
Chattanooga got on the board first with a monster home run to deep left field from Jade Gainer, the first in her time with Chattanooga, to make it 1-0 in the second. In the third, with one out, the Mocs hit back-to-back singles. The second out came after a fielder's choice that put runners at the corners. Segedi took off for second and the Paladin throw from second went into the outfield and Wright made it a 2-0 games, scoring from third.
 
The Mocs batted around in the fourth. Abi Bunt led off with a single up the middle. Pinch runner Izzy Carlyle reached third on a double by Gainer. Chloe Lackey followed that with a double to drive in Carlyle. Pinch hitter Auburn Karls drew a walk to load the bases. Pinch hitter Mia Leone singled in Gainer.
 
The Paladins went home on the force on the next play to get the out and the bases were loaded for pinch hitter Grace Hixson who hit the ball to second, driving in the Mocs fifth run of the game. Pitts drove in Zoe Wright and UTC led 6-0 in four innings.
 
Lackey singled and advanced to second on a passed ball, but crossed the plate on a triple off the bat of Wright in the fifth. The Mocs led 7-0 after five and picked up the win on Pitts' two-run homer in the sixth.
 
Long struck out the side in the second and got the Paladins to hit into three groundouts in the third. She had a 1-2-3 inning in the fifth. The Calhoun, Ga., senior had five strikeouts in the game and allowed just two hits.
 
GAME TWO: Chattanooga 7, Furman 6 / 10 innings
The drama didn't end with Game One, Saturday. The Mocs earned a 7-6, 10 inning walk-off for the Saturday sweep.
 
Furman picked up a 3-0 lead after two innings, but the Mocs cut into that with two runs in the bottom of the second. With one out, Lackey singled through the right side. She took second on a wild pitch and advanced to third on a single through the left side by Raven Jones. Jones stole second and a ground out to second drove in Lackey. Jones scored on a single back to the pitcher and the Mocs made it a 3-2 game.
 
In the fifth, the Paladins loaded the bases on three singles on one out. Taylor Long entered the game for Chattanooga. A ball to second by Furman went home to get the force out to keep it a 3-2 game and the inning ended on a grounder to second.
 
The Mocs took the lead in the bottom of the inning. Segedi led of the inning, reaching on a fielding error. Pitts walked and Anna Dovey singled up the middle to load the bases. Bunt hit a sac fly to center, driving in Segedi to tie the game at 3-3.
 
Izzy Carlyle, pinch running for Pitts, broke for home with two outs on Gainer's fielder's choice to short. The Paladins went for the force out but the bases weren't loaded so Carlyle was safe and the Mocs led for the first time.
 
Pitts singled to right field with two outs in the sixth, sending home Wright from second and the Mocs led 6-3. However, the Paladins didn't let the Mocs comeback spoil the seventh. With one out, Furman scored three runs on five straight singles to tie it up and sat the Mocs down 1-2-3 in the bottom of the inning to force extras.
 
Both teams stranded three runners each over the next two innings and the Paladins stranded their ghost runner in the 10^th.
 
Chloe Lackey took second to start the 10^th as a ghost runner and took third on a wild pitch. Raven Jones singled, sending Lackey home for another walk-off win.
 
Long earned the win for the Mocs after delivering 5-and-2/3 innings in relief, allowing five hits and striking out three. Sophia Guerra opened the game before the Mocs turned to its bullpen to navigate the Paladins lineup.
 
The game lasted three hours and four minutes.
 
WHAT'S NEXT
Chattanooga closes out the regular season Sunday afternoon with the final game of the series with the Paladins. The Mocs will honor nine seniors before the game that starts at 2:05 p.m.
 
The Southern Conference Tournament starts Wednesday, May 6 at 10:00 a.m. and runs through Saturday afternoon. The winner receives and automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
 
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