University of Tennessee at Chattanooga softball coach Frank Reed had a bad feeling about Thursday's game against Tennessee Tech before it started.
The first inning probably didn't help, but by the end, the longest-tenured coach at UTC had plenty of reasons to feel good.
Freshman Allison Swinford entered in relief and pitched 6 1/3 scoreless innings as the Mocs rallied to win 7-5 in the opening game of their Chattanooga Challenge at Frost Stadium.
Today UTC (3-2) will face Sacred Heart at 3 p.m. and Indiana State at 5 as the event continues, weather permitting. Games are scheduled through Sunday, but there are chances of rain in the forecast for the next three days.
By the time Swinford got in Thursday's game, the Mocs trailed 5-0 after Celie Hudson gave up five runs and walked four of the eight batters she faced. In relief, the former Dalton High School standout gave up three hits, struck out five batters and walked one.
"I don't think there are good or bad situations (to come in)," Swinford said. "It's whether you're ready to go at the right time or you're not, so I think that no matter what situation, you've got to be ready.
"It could have been worse; it could have been better."
Designated hitter Amanda Beltran got the Mocs on the board in the second with her first home run of the season and 13th of her career. UTC took control with a five-run fourth that had only two hits - Emma Sturdivant's single with one out and J.J. Hamill's two-run single with two outs - as three walks and a hit batter helped create runs. Brook Womack drew a bases-loaded walk to cut the lead to 5-3, a wild pitch scored Ashley Conner and Hayleigh Weissenbach had a sacrifice fly before Hamill's hit up the middle for their two-run edge.
Pitching and defense shut down the Golden Eagles the rest of the way, with Womack ranging to her right at third base to stop a sharply hit drive by Taylor Thomas and make the throw to first for the final out.
For Tennessee Tech, former Northwest Whitfield standout catcher Bayli Cruse went 2-for-3, was hit by a pitch and stole a base.
Hamill had two of the Mocs' six hits.
"We'd probably lose that game if it were last year," Reed said. "For us, we needed a game like this to give us a kick-start. I don't think we got it last weekend, and I was looking for a game like this, but you never know when it's going to happen. For us to go down five, we could have hung our heads, but the Beltran home run gave us a boost. Next thing you know, our bats came around.
"I think we've got that; we just didn't show it the first weekend. I was really nervous coming into the game today. I didn't know what to expect and I usually have a pretty good idea, but I'm excited for them. More than anything else, they needed a game like this to know they can do it."
Contact Gene Henley at ghenley@timesfreepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @genehenleytfp.