Playing without its top pitcher, Cori Jennings, who has bruised ribs, the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga softball team lost two one-run games Saturday at Mississippi State's Bulldog Slamboree in Starkville. The Mocs fell 7-6 in eight innings to Longwood and 6-5 to Northwestern State with Jordan Fortel and Kailey Palazzolo sharing the pitching.
Longwood (8-4), which later lost 3-1 to Mississippi State, led 4-0 before UTC (12-8) scored five runs in the sixth inning as Alyssa Taylor singled, Fortel walked, Anyssa Robles singled and Criket Blanco delivered a two-run single. Ashley Conner singled in another run, Katie Corum hit a sacrifice fly and Amanda Ross hit a two-out RBI single.
Palazzolo replaced Fortel in the circle but gave up a one-out tying homer and two singles and Fortel returned to pitch.
With the international tiebreaker in play, UTC scored one in the eighth on a two-out single by Ross, but Longwood scored two with the help of an error, winning on a sacrifice fly.
Ross was 2-for-2 and Blanco 2-for-3 with their two RBIs apiece.
Blanco was 2-for-4 with a homer against Northwestern State (13-5), and Sam Taylor, Alyssa Taylor, Fortel and Robles also had RBIs.
Palazzolo pitched a 1-2-3 first inning but gave up two homers to start the Louisiana school's second at-bat, and Fortel (2-3) took over and gave up seven hits and three earned runs the rest of the way.
UTC again had a productive sixth, this time with four runs for a 5-4 lead, but the Demons scored two in the sixth and got the Mocs three up and three down in the seventh for the win. Northwestern State had edged host Mississippi State on Friday, 1-0.
- Chattanooga State 10-11, Dyersburg State 2-1: At Chattanooga State, the Lady Tigers opened TCCAA play with two five-inning wins, as Labrisha Washington pitched a two-hitter and Morgan Boggess followed with a three- hitter.
The teams will play another doubleheader starting at noon today.
Kayla Logoleo was 3-for-4 with a walk, two RBIs and two runs scored for Chattanooga State (10-6) in the first game, when Lillie McCrary and Jennah McElheney each was 1-for-2 with a walk, a homer and two RBIs.
McElheney was 2-for-2 with a double and two RBIs in game two, when Shannon Plese and Courtney Styles each was 2-for-3 with three RBIs and two runs and Colbie Thomas was 2-for-3 with a double, two runs and an RBI. Plese had two doubles and Styles hit a three-run homer.
- West Georgia 12-5, Lee 3-2: At Cleveland, the visitors swept the Gulf South Conference games with Randi Phillips and Katie Spinks combining for seven RBIs in the opener and Summer Wallace and Kathryn Woody each driving in two runs in the rematch.
Amanda Lynn was 5-for-8 and scored two runs in the doubleheader for Lee (9-12, 2-9), and Lexie Dean had a two-run homer in the second game. Hallie Davis and Rachel Polacek each was 2-for-3 in game one.
- Piedmont 9-8, Covenant 1-5: On Lookout Mountain, the Lady Scots dropped to 5-6-1, 0-4 in the USA South, with the two conference losses.
Kat Andrews had an RBI single in game one for Covenant, and Kendall Whann was 2-for-3 with an RBI and a run in game two, when Madison Quirk was 1-for-2 with two runs and an RBI triple.
- Rhodes 10-9, Sewanee 2-1: At Memphis, the Lynx (5-3) dropped the Tigers to 0-5 with the Southern Athletic Association sweep.
Sara Burklin and Courtney Sanders had RBI singles in the first game for Sewanee, and Rachel Hoffman was 2-for-2 and scored on a Miranda Towsend RBI in game two.
Vols romp twice
Lexi Overstreet homered and drove in four runs in Tennessee's 11-2 softball win Saturday against St. John's in Knoxville.
Shaliyah Geathers from Chattanooga was 2-for-3 with an RBI double for the 16th-ranked Vols (15-5) in that game and was 0-for-1 with an RBI in a 13-1 win against Wisconsin-Green Bay.