The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga softball team returned to a familiar place to begin its season Friday and won 3-2 over Morgan State and 10-7 over Detroit Mercy in the first day of the Dot Richardson NCSI tournament at Clermont, Fla.
Celie Hudson pitched four innings, giving up three hits and two unearned runs, for the first-game win, and Alexa Veamoi got a three-inning save with another three hits allowed. UTC also totaled six hits, getting RBIs from Aly Walker and Brook Womack, and scored what turned out to be the winning run in the fifth when Alyssa Coppinger doubled and scored on an error on Hayleigh Weissenbach's bunt single.
Veamoi got another save as the fourth Mocs pitcher against Detroit Mercy. Emma Sturdivant was 3-for-3 with a triple and five RBIs, and Weissenbach was 2-for-4 with a two-run double that made the score 8-5. Aly Walker was 1-for-2 with two walks and three runs scored, and Veamoi and Halie Williamson scored two apiece.
-Lee University lost 5-2 to Indianapolis and beat Truman State 10-2 in the rain-adjusted Charger Chill Out at Huntsville, Ala., with Shonna Penney pitching a five-hitter and Taylor Moran going 3-for-4 with three doubles, four runs scored and two batted in against TSU.
Brooklynn Frazier had three RBIs and Bailey Church matched Moran's two in the win, and Kayla Louie was 2-for-2 with two walks and three runs. Louie was 2-for-3 and Kayla Gooch had a seventh-inning two-run single in the loss for Lee (5-4).
-Covenant College followed its opening six losses by beating Berea 9-0 in five innings and edging Maryville 3-2 in nine at Maryville on Friday.
Faith Manning was 2-for-4 with three RBIs and Carlin Labuzan was 2-for-2 with two RBIs at the top of the lineup against Berea, and Shade Epes, Erika Mast and Shelby Ralston each scored two runs and batted in one while going 3-for-3, 2-for-2 and 2-for-3. Carsyn Stone and Taylor Epes combined on a three-hit shutout with seven strikeouts.
Sarah Huskey pitched all nine innings against Maryville, allowing one earned run, and Manning had a two-run hit. Madalyn Ames scored in the ninth on a wild pitch.
-Tennessee Wesleyan opened its season a day earlier than scheduled and won 4-1 and 3-0 at Cumberlands.
Courtney Black was 2-for-3 with two RBIs, Olivia Housewright was 2-for-4 with an RBI and Baylee Sutton scored two runs in support of Rachel Mathews' pitching in the first game, and then Natasha Robinson was 2-for-2 and Briana Muller drove in two runs as Courtney Calkins and Hope Mizell combined for the shutout.
-Bryan College's scheduled opening doubleheader at Martin Methodist was moved up two days to Thursday, and the hosts won 6-1 and 7-6.
Heidi Smith homered in the first game for Bryan, when Taylor Ferguson was 3-for-4 with three RBIs for the host RedHawks. Smith, Sydney Olander and Lindsey Dunn each had two hits in game two, and Hannah O'Shields hit an RBI double.
-Cleveland State lost 4-1 to host Georgia Highlands and edged Shelton State 4-3 in moved-ahead openers Friday at the GHC Border Battle.
-Sewanee's scheduled openers today at Wesleyan (Ga.) have been postponed.