Robles 3: University of Tennessee at Chattanooga softball team wins late again

UTC's Alyssa Taylor, left, and Anyssa Robles celebrate after ending the top of an inning in this Feb. 23, 2014, file photo.
UTC's Alyssa Taylor, left, and Anyssa Robles celebrate after ending the top of an inning in this Feb. 23, 2014, file photo.

The fat lady had not started singing yet, signifying the end of the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga softball team's chances to win Friday's Southern Conference semifinal against Mercer. But she was in a corner somewhere, sipping on a glass of water and loosening her vocal cords.

Anyssa Robles decided the show wasn't over.

The UTC catcher hit a three-run home run over the right-field fence with two outs in the bottom half of the seventh inning, giving the top-seeded Mocs a 7-6 win at Frost Stadium. Now 34-13, they will play Mercer again in the championship game this afternoon at 1.

"She had been pitching me outside all game, and I'd beeen struggling with it," said Robles, who was 2-for-4. "I just assumed she was going outside with the pitch, stepped in and hit it."

She put Friday's game-winner slightly ahead of the one she had in Sunday's regular-season finale against Samford and above her single Thursday that defeated Western Carolina, because "we'd had a hard, hard-fought battle with Mercer, so it's more special."

Even as Mercer forged in front in the top of the seventh inning, the Mocs didn't waver. They didn't seem concerned, because they've been finding ways to rally all season.

"We've been a comeback team all year long," UTC coach Frank Reed said. "Right now, the kids don't believe they can be beat. I felt that if we could just get one person on base in the seventh, we could get a home run and possibly tie things up and go into extra innings like we did yesterday.

"Anyssa's swinging the bat well and seeing the ball well. She hasn't hit many home runs, but she gets big hits at the right time, and that's been in postseason play."

The Mocs took a 3-0 lead after two innings, having pounded out five hits. Two of the runs came on a home run by J.J. Hamill in the bottom of the second.

Mercer responded with a pair of runs in the top of the third on two hits, but Criket Blanco provided a little insurance in the bottom of the fifth with a solo homer to give the Mocs a 4-2 edge.

UTC starting pitcher Taylor Deason and the defense worked their way out of a bases-loaded, one-out jam in the sixth inning, but the Bears sent 10 batters to the plate in the seventh. Riley Carter hit a one-out, two-run homer to tie the game, and then Mercer scored on a wild pitch and on a Caroline Taylor single.

Mercer pitcher Kirsten Stevens quickly retired the dangerous duo of Hamill and Sarah Beth Roberts to start the bottom of the seventh, but Nicole Osterman had an infield hit and Blanco drew a walk, bringing Robles to the plate.

"We had Taylor's back, and we had Cori's (Jennings, relief pitcher) back," Blanco said. "We just tried to get the outs we could get defensively, and we kept fighting until the last out. We've battled Mercer all year, and we knew we were going to have to get hits to win because both teams are good."

Taylor, Hamill and Osterman matched Robles with two hits each for the Mocs.

Jennings, who relieved Deason in the top of the seventh, got the win to improve to 14-6 on the year. Today's rematch is a winner-take-all game.

"I reminded the team after the game that tomorrow is a one-game championship. If we lose tomorrow, we might as well have lost the first day," Reed said. "Hopefully we play well, represent Chattanooga and UTC well.

"I love this team and I told them that they're one of my most awesome teams I've ever had. They come to play every day; there's no drama and everybody has settled into a role, and they're pulling for each other. You can't beat team. You can beat individuals, but you can't beat team."

Stevens pitched the first no-hitter in SoCon tournament history to get Mercer back to the final with a 2-0 defeat of Furman. Now 26-9, she walked two Paladins in the first inning and didn't allow another baserunner, striking out 11. Taylor Miller had two hits and an RBI for the Bears (37-21).

Earlier, Furman (31-24) followed up its shocking last-inning win Thursday night against No. 2 seed Samford by beating Western Carolina 6-2. Ambree Muller was 3-for-5 with an RBI and a run scored in support of Paladins pitcher Alex Sappington, and Lindsey Bert batted in two runs.

Contact Gene Henley at ghenley@timesfreepress.com. Follow him at twitter.com/genehenleytfp.

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