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Six unearned runs propelled the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga softball team to a 7-5 Southern Conference victory Friday evening at Western Carolina.

Five of the runs came in the fourth inning, aided by only one error, giving the Lady Mocs a 7-1 lead. Then pitcher Taylor Deason weathered Haley Pace's two-run home run in the bottom of the fourth and single runs in the fifth and sixth in improving to 13-7 for the season. She allowed six hits and four earned runs.

Sam Taylor was 2-for-3 with a two-run single and a run scored for UTC (19-16, 4-3). Leadoff hitter Sara Poteat raised her team-high batting average to .360 with an RBI double and a single, and she scored twice and stole her 12th base of the season. Alyssa Taylor also had a steal and scored twice.

Taylor Sigmon was the losing pitcher but homered for WCU (11-22, 3-7). Third baseman Pace was 2-for-2 and scored twice.

"Western Carolina is a team that can sneak up on you," UTC coach Frank Reed said in a school release. "[We] saw that today. [We] built up a nice little lead, and that almost wasn't enough. Now we have to stay focused and try to get two tomorrow."

The teams play a doubleheader today in Cullowhee.

* Tennessee 6, Kentucky 0: At Lexington, Ky., Tori Lewis from GPS was 1-for-2 and scored a run as the fifth-ranked Lady Vols began their SEC weekend series by blanking the 20th-ranked Wildcats and freshman ace Kelsey Nunley from Soddy-Daisy. Kat Dotson homered and drove in three runs for Tennessee (29-6).

Ellen Renfroe (9-1) pitched a two-hitter while Nunley (15-4) gave up five hits and four walks.

* Carson-Newman 7-2, Newberry 2-1: At Jefferson City, the Lady Eagles swept the South Atlantic Conference doubleheader as freshman Kaitie Sims from Baylor School and Chattanooga State transfer Cassie Lyons got the pitching wins with complete games allowing one earned run apiece.

Jessica Morgan was 1-for-2 with an RBI triple, two stolen bases and two runs scored in game one, when her former Ooltewah teammates Bri Shoemake and Sara Kelley each scored once. Kelley doubled and scored in game two for the Lady Eagles (24-12, 8-4).

* Chattanooga State 13, Dyersburg State 5: At Dyersburg, the Lady Tigers improved to 22-9 overall and 13-4 in the TCCAA with their eighth consecutive victory but then were rained out of the second game of their scheduled four-game weekend series.

* Walters State 9-6, Cleveland State 0-9: At Morristown, the visiting Lady Cougars bounced back from the shutout loss to beat the Lady Senators. Cleveland State is 7-16, 5-12 in the TCCAA.