The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga finally got to play a couple of home softball games Saturday, and the Mocs opened Southern Conference play with two wins against UNC Greensboro at Jim Frost Stadium, 5-4 and 3-1.
They had to work especially hard to get the first one. UNCG led 4-0 before UTC scored two runs in the bottom of the fifth inning, when Marina Wilkerson tripled in a run and scored on a groundout, and the Mocs won for relief pitcher Kailey Palazzolo with a three-run seventh.
Jesslyn Stockard opened the home team's last at-bat with a single, pinch-hitter Jenny Garcia tripled in pinch-runner Courtney Ervin, Wilkerson singled in Garcia, Sam Taylor singled, J.J. Hamill moved the runners with a sacrifice bunt and Sarah Beth Roberts singled in Wilkerson to end the game.
Wilkerson, who went 2-for-3, was the only Moc with multiple hits in either game. UTC (19-8) won with only six hits in game two, while freshman pitcher Cori Jennings kept UNCG's nine hits and three walks spread out.
Anyssa Robles was 1-for-2 with a fourth-inning leadoff homer in game two for the Mocs, who took the lead with a two-run third that included singles by Sam Taylor, Hamill and Stockard and a sacrifice fly by Roberts.
Lindsay Thomas was 2-for-2 and scored the run and Allison Geiner and Tatiana Alcala each was 2-for-3 for the Spartans (12-11) in game two. Geiner also was 2-for-3 in the opener, when Danielle Vega was 2-for-3 with an RBI double.
The teams play another game today at 2 p.m. at Jim Frost Stadium.
* Lee 3-5, Shorter 2-2: At Cleveland High School, the Lady Flames posted coach Emily Russell's 500th and 501st wins, all at Lee, at the expense of former northwest Georgia high school pitching stars Maddie Bray and Kalei Kimbrell. Bray's three sixth-inning runs allowed in the first game of the Gulf South doubleheader were all unearned.
Leigh Beatenbough was the winning pitcher after doubling in the tying and winning runs following an Emily Dagnan RBI double. In game two, Kaylie Drew was 2-for-3 with a two-run homer, Dominique Hannah doubled and drove in two runs and Angie Hughes pitched a six-hitter with seven strikeouts for Lee (18-10, 9-7). Niki Cook was 3-for-4 and scored both runs for Shorter (19-8, 9-7).
"I've had a lot of great players over the years that have been a joy to coach," said Russell, a former Lee ace who was the main pitcher for Grace Academy in Chattanooga going back to her eighth-grade year. "Many of them were here today, and it's great to see them move on and be successful once they leave our program."
* Chattanooga State 5-11, Cleveland State 1-0: At Chattanooga, the eighth-ranked Lady Tigers followed up 9-0 and 4-1 TCCAA wins Friday with another sweep of the Lady Cougars. Friday, Hanna Manley pitched a six-inning no-hitter with six strikeouts, Sydney Sloan and Lindsey Stickrod each homered and drove in three runs and Katie Scott hit a two-run shot in the first game, when Sloan was 3-for-3 and Katy Richardson and Izzy McCurry each had two hits and scored twice. Sharlene Godoy pitched a four-hitter with 13 strikeouts in game two, while Dana Horgan tripled and singled and scored a run and Shannon Plese was 2-for-3 and matched Stickrod and Richardson with an RBI and a run. Jennifer Kern was 2-for-3 with the Lady Cougars' RBI.
Saturday, McKenzi Ferguson allowed five hits in six innings in the first win for Chattanooga State (24-8), while Plese was 2-for-4 with a two-run homer, Sloan was 2-for-2 with an RBI and Richardson was 2-for-4 and scored a run. Morgan Boggess and Ericka Webster combined on the five-hit shutout, and Plese was 3-for-3 and Richardson was 2-for-3, each with two RBIs and two runs, Katie Scott was 2-for-3 with a homer and four RBIs and Courtney Crawford was 2-for-3 and scored twice. Miranda Smith was 4-for-7 in the two games for the Lady Cougars.
* Tennessee Temple 6-1, Southern Wesleyan 5-9: At Central, S.C., the visiting Lady Crusaders took a 6-0 lead and held on in the first game, when Raven Pope batted in two runs and Cayley Shoemaker was 3-for-4 and matched Kaleigh Riley by scoring twice. Shoemake also got a save after winning pitcher Carly Daniel allowed one run, unearned, in four innings. Daniel was 1-for-1 and scored in game two for TTU (4-10).
* LaGrange 2-4, Covenant 0-0: At LaGrange, Ga., the Lady Scots slipped to 7-7 overall and 2-6 in the USA South with only three hits in each game. Morgan Lane was 2-for-3 in the opener, when Cris Grant pitched a five-hitter with one earned run in defeat.