UTC Pitcher Jordan Fortel winds up.
photo by M.A. Locke
The Chattanooga Mocs softball team clinched two eight-inning wins in the first day of home action at the Chattanooga Spring Classic presented by Ruby Falls. UTC improves to 7-0.
"In the first game, we pitched really well and played really good defense," head coach Frank Reed stated. "We had enough offense to put it in the win column."
Chattanooga started the day off with a 1-0 win over Dayton. It was the Flame's first game of the season.
The two squads were scoreless up until the bottom of the eighth.
Senior Sam Taylor doubled to bring freshman Alyssa Coppinger to home and clinch the game for the Mocs.
"It's exciting to win like that," shared Reed.
Then, Chattanooga recorded a 4-3 victory against Wright State.
"In the second game I thought we had more offense, and we had great pitching from Cori," commented Reed. "We had a couple of errors that I think came into play. But for the most part, we did what it took to win."
UTC got off to a quick start offensively, earning three runs in the bottom of the second. Freshman Amanda Beltran, sophomore Ashley Conner and junior Katy Richardson all batted in runs, making it 3-0.
"After the first game, we talked about getting more offense," explained Reed. "We did that early in the second and got some nice runs."
The Raiders got on the board in the fourth inning, bringing in two runs off a double from Ashton Salyers to make it 3-2. In the top of the seventh, Salyers scored to tie the game up.
In the bottom of the eighth, senior Anyssa Robles singled down the right field line, bringing freshman Jordan Fortel home to win the game.
"It's always nice to finish a game like that," Reed said. "We did it the first game today too. It's always a good feeling to be the home team and get that last chance to swing at it. Anyssa Robles did a great job hitting it down the line there."
Sophomore Cori Jennings moves to 4-0 from the mound after the two wins today. She tossed a complete game against the Raiders and shared time in the circle with Fortel when facing Dayton.
In the neutral games, UT Martin beat IPFW 6-1, while Wright State also beat the Mastodons 6-4. The Flyers then posted their first win of the season 5-4 against UT Martin.
UTC squares off with Detroit Mercy Saturday at 1:30 p.m. (E.S.T) and UT Martin at 4:00 p.m. in Frost Stadium.
Check the softball schedule page on GoMocs.com for links to live stats and video.
Tickets for the Chattanooga Spring Classic are $10 a day for adults and $5 a day for youth. UTC students are admitted free with a valid Mocs Card. Call the UTC Ticket Office at (423) 266-MOCS (6627) or check the 'Ticket' link at the top of the page to order.