Anyssa Robles is starting to carve out a niche on the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga softball team -- one of the big-hit variety.
For the second straight game, the catcher drove in the winning run in extra innings. This time the result was a 5-4, 10-inning win over Western Carolina in the Mocs' first game of the Southern Conference tournament Thursday at Frost Stadium. She had done the same thing in the eighth in Sunday's regular-season finale against Samford that secured the top seed for UTC.
UTC (33-13) will face Mercer this morning at 10. The Bears (36-20) blanked Samford 2-0 on a six-hitter by SoCon pitcher of the year Kirsten Stevens, her 25th win of the season.
The Mocs' half of the 10th inning started with them down 4-3 but with Sarah Beth Roberts on second base under the international tiebreaker rules. Nicole Osterman, whom the Catamounts had pitched around throughout the game, finally got a pitch to hit and quickly tied the score with a double into the right-field gap. Two batters later, Robles blooped a hit into center field, scoring Osterman.
UTC relief pitcher Taylor Deason throws to a Western Carolina batter during the Southern Conference women's softball tournament Thursday, May 7, 2015, at Frost Stadium in Chattanooga, Tenn. UTC defeated Western Carolina 5-4 in 10 innings"I was trying to guess what kind of pitch was going to come, and do the fundamentals to be prepared," Robles said. "That first win in the tournament is always the hardest to get under your belt, but we got it. We know we're going to face a really tough team tomorrow, and right now we're not all hitting together as a team, but once we get our bats going at the same time, I think we're going to cruise through."
Senior pitcher Taylor Deason earned the win for the Mocs in relief of freshman starter Cori Jennings. Deason pitched five innings without allowing an earned run. Taylor Sigmon took the loss for the Catamounts.
UTC was out-hit by the Catamounts 12-10 and committed two errors but also turned four double plays, including one of the 5-2-3 variety in the top of the fifth with the bases loaded.
"I tell the girls that you have to be able to do three things -- hit well, pitch well and play 'D,'" UTC coach Frank Reed said. "We made a crucial error, but it was pretty cool to get out of innings with some double plays.
"But at the end of the day, the thing that would have pushed us to a win sooner would have been our offense. I want that team back that was hitting so well during the Auburn tournament at the beginning of the year."
The Mocs took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the third, getting consecutive hits from Sam Taylor, J.J. Hamill and Roberts. The Catamounts tied the game in the next inning when Abigail Daniels -- who was 4-for-4 -- singled and scored on a sacrifice fly to right field. An inning later a Karly Harkey double scored Crystal Cyr for WCU.
UTC responded in the sixth inning with a two-run single down the right-field line by Jesslyn Stockard, and the Mocs could have ended the game in the seventh, but Western Carolina scratched out a run when Daniels scored on a Kara Salvo sacrifice fly.
Robles and Taylor each went 2-for-5 for UTC.
"Winning the first game always sets the tone for a series," Reed said. "Hopefully we'll wake up and hit the ball better tomorrow. If you look at the games, nobody is playing bad now; everybody comes into tournaments as if they have a fresh start.
"Who knows what tomorrow holds? Hopefully we'll come back and play well."
Western Carolina (22-30) later beat UNC Greensboro 6-1, after the Spartans eliminated East Tennessee State, 5-2, and will face Furman (30-24) at 12:30 today.
WCU's Jordan Garrett started again and was the winning pitcher, and Sigmon and Heather Chastain hit two-run homers while Harkey was 2-for-2 and scored twice and Courtney Price was 2-for-3 with one run.
Tory Wright was 3-for-3 with a homer and Allison Geiner was 2-for-4, raising her season average to .407 for UNCG (25-22). Lindsay Thomas and Nicole Thomas each homered and doubled, Lindsay adding a single, and drove in three and two runs against ETSU, when Allie Bazonski pitched a four-hitter. Cassi Pickett hit a two-run homer for the Bucs (15-33).
Taylor Miller's two-run single in the second inning provided all the scoring in third-seeded Mercer's win over No. 2 seed Samford, which later was stunned 6-3 by Furman. Miller's hit followed a Caroline Taylor single and two hit batters.
SoCon player of the year Sieara Bishop capped Furman's six-run seventh inning against No. 2 seed Samford with a two-out grand slam. Elise Smith hit a two-run homer before the Paladins loaded the bases for Bishop, and winning pitcher Lindsey Bert went 3-for-4.
Caroline Wilder and Abbie Miranda each had three hits and an RBI for the Bulldogs, which exited the tournament with a 33-22 season record.
Contact Gene Henley at ghenley@timesfreepress.com. Follow him at twitter.com/genehenleytfp.