The Cleveland State softball team opened the Region VII Conference portion of their schedule over the weekend with a short trip to Chattanooga State. The weather was bright sunshine, but the Nationally ranked Lady Tigers rained all over the Lady Cougar parade as the home team swept the four-game series.
The Lady Tigers swept a pair of games on Saturday by scores of 9-1 and 6-0 and then completed the weekend with a 10-0 win in game one on Sunday afternoon and squeeked out a 7-6 win in the fourth game of the series.
The Lady Tigers got all the run support that they would need in the bottom of the first inning on Sunday as they put a five-spot on the board.
Courtney Crawford knocked in a pair of runs with a bases loaded double to cap the rally.
The Lady Tigers scored in every inning as Kelsey Thomas tripled in a pair of runs in the third. Hanna Manley allowed only one hit as the Lady Tigers ended game one quickly.
Game two on Sunday was a different story. The Lady Cougars struck first with a pair of runs to open the contest. A leadoff walk and a rare Chattanooga State miscue set the stage for Hannah Powell who came up with the big two-run single to give the visitors their first lead of the series, 2-0.
An error, a hit batter and a walk allowed the Lady Tigers to get one of those runs back in the bottom of the first, but the Lady Cougars were able to hold the lead until the fourth inning before the home team mounted a comeback with three big runs as Lindsey Stickrod belted a two-run homer for a 4-2 lead.
The Lady Tigers used three doubles an inning later to push their lead to 7-1, but the Lady Cougars mounted one last rally in the sixth and came within an eyelash of pulling off the upset with a four-run inning. Perry Hindi started the rally with a solo homer to straight-away centerfield. Powell and Kristen Qualls each singled and scored on another Lady Tiger miscue while Sara O'Rear doubled in the fourth run of the inning to cut the lead to 7-6. The Rally ended there though, as the Lady Tigers hung on for the win.
Sharlene Godoy got the win in game two for Chattanooga State (18-0, 4-0) while Kelsey Haley, Allison Conley and Ida Watson pitched for Cleveland State (1-5, 0-4).
Baylee Williams doubled in the first run of the day on Saturday in the first inning, but the Lady Cougars tied the game in the second frame on a solo homer from Hindi.
A couple of Cleveland State miscues pushed the Lady Tiger lead to 3-1 and then the home team put game one out of reach with a six-run outburst in the fifth to end game one as Sydney Spurgeon had a three-run triple.
Elyse Ferguson, Godoy and Lindsey Strickland all picked up RBI hits for Chattanooga State in game two as the home team cruised to the win. Shelby Willard went the distance to get the win for the Lady Tigers in game one while Godoy did the same in game two. Ida Watson, Kelsey Haley and Alexa Perian pitched for the Lady Cougars. The Lady Cougars managed only five hits in the twinbill.
Cleveland State will return home for a pair of games on Monday with Gadsden State that were snowed out earlier in the month.