chattanooga MOCS

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. --- The Chattanooga Mocs softball season ended when a rally fell short against No. 2 seeded Samford, but not before the Mocs shutout out fourth-seeded Wofford in the early game.
 
Chloe Lackey went 5-for-7 (.714) with a double, two home runs and three RBI Saturday. Zoe Wright was 3-for-5 with a double, three RBI and a run scored. Anna Dovey drove in two with a double and Abi Bunt had four RBI on the day with two hits.
 
The Mocs combined for three home runs, five doubles, 13 RBI and 13 runs over two games.
 
COACH FRANK REED MILESTONE
Mocs head coach Frank Reed reached his 1300^th career win Saturday with a 7-0 shutout of Wofford in the Southern Conference Tournament. After rallying late Friday night, the Mocs returned to shutout the Terriers.
 
Reed arrived at UTC with 476 wins and added 824 over his 25 seasons with the Mocs. He was named the 2001 NFCA National Coach of the Year. He is a seven-time TJCAA Coach of the Year, a seven-time Southern Conference Coach of the Year, led the Mocs to 10 SoCon regular season titles, 11 SoCon Tournament titles and 11 NCAA Tournament appearances.
 
SOCON GAME 10: #5 Chattanooga 7, #4 Wofford 0
 
Fifth-seeded Chattanooga broke the game open early and rode a dominant pitching performance to a 7-0 victory over fourth-seeded Wofford on Saturday in the Southern Conference Softball Tournament at Jim Frost Stadium.
 
The Mocs scored three runs in the second inning, added two more in the fourth and fifth, and never looked back in handing the Terriers their second postseason loss.
 
Zoe Wright led the early surge with a bases-clearing double to left-center in the second inning, driving in Jade Gainer, Chloe Lackey and Raven Jones to give Chattanooga a 3-0 advantage. Wright finished 2-for-3 with three RBIs.
 
Lackey paced the offense with a 3-for-4 effort, including a two-run home run to left-center in the fourth inning that stretched the lead to 5-0. She also doubled and scored twice. Abi Bunt added a two-run homer in the fifth, her second of the season, to cap the scoring.
 
Gainer chipped in with two hits, including a double, drew a walk and scored twice, while Ava Cowart collected a pair of hits and also doubled as Chattanooga totaled 10 hits, including four doubles and two home runs.
 
In the circle, the Mocs combined for a three-hit shutout. Starter Taylor Long worked three scoreless innings, allowing one hit and two walks, before Emery Bales took over in relief. Bales tossed four shutout innings, surrendering two hits and striking out three to secure her ninth win.
 
Wofford threatened only intermittently, putting five runners on base over seven innings but never advancing a runner past second. The Terriers finished with three hits and were held scoreless despite entering the contest averaging over six runs per game this season.
 
Chattanooga jumped on Wofford starter Abby Greenwood early, scoring three runs in the second and adding two more in the fourth before a pitching change. Natalya Salo entered in relief and allowed two runs over four innings.
 
 
GAME 11: #5 Chattanooga 6, #2 Samford 8
 
Second-seeded Samford used a late surge to rally past No. 5 seed Chattanooga 8-6 on Saturday in a Southern Conference softball tournament elimination game at Frost Stadium.
 
Chattanooga appeared in control after erupting for five runs in the third inning, but Samford answered with steady offense down the stretch and pulled away with a three-run sixth to advance to the championship game against UNCG Sunday morning.
 
The Mocs totaled 10 hits and built a 5-1 lead in the third. Chloe Lackey ignited the inning with a lead-off single. A sac bunt from Raven Jones moved her over before the Mocs loaded the bases on a walk and another single. With two outs, Baileigh Pitts singled to left field, driving in the Mocs first run. Anna Dovey followed with a two-run double and Abi Bunt drove in a pair before getting tagged out trying to stretch her base hit into a double.
 
Samford chipped away immediately and never let the deficit linger. A two-run double in the fourth made it a 5-3 game, and the Bulldogs benefited from defensive miscues to score twice more in the fifth, including unearned runs that tied the game.
 
The decisive moment came in the sixth inning. With the game tied, Samford strung together key hits, including a two-run triple, to push across three runs in the inning and take an 8-5 advantage.
 
Chattanooga attempted a late comeback in the seventh, plating one run on a Lackey home run to left field. Back-to-back singles gave hope to the Mocs. However, hope was slowly dashed with an out by interference by a runner hitting a fielder in the act of fielding the ball and a ground out. Pitts walked to load the bases but and infield pop-up ended the season.
 
Emery Bales got the start and allowed two runs over three innings while Taylor Long came on in relief. Long moved to fifth all-time at UTC, passing Awbrey Winckler (2003) for career strikeouts with 550. She is second for the Mocs with 8.49 strikeouts per seven innings.

TEAM RECORDS:
Chattanooga: 25-29-1
Samford: 28-30