The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga softball team is 28-12 overall and 6-5 in the Southern Conference after defeating Western Carolina 6-5 and 3-0 on Thursday in Jim Frost Stadium. Celie Hudson (9-8) pitched a three-hitter with one walk and five strikeouts in the second game, when Emily Coltharp was 2-for-3 and scored on doubles in the first and fifth innings by Emma Sturdivant and Aly Walker. Halie Williamson added an RBI single in the fifth. Sturdivant also was 2-for-3 in that game after hitting an RBI double in the opener, when Hudson got the save as the Mocs lost most of a 6-1 lead built on Amanda Beltran’s ninth home run of the season (23rd for her UTC career) and a five-run fourth inning helped by two errors by WCU (17-25, 4-9). Freshman pitcher Mariah Ramirez improved to 12-1, Beltran scored twice and Hayleigh Weissenbach was 2-for-3 and scored a run. For the Catamounts, Erica Hayes hit a two-run homer and Hunter Gibbons and Shaina Reed each was 2-for-4 with an RBI and a run.
» Covenant College ended its softball season with 2-0 and 8-6 losses Thursday at Piedmont in a USA South first-tournament series. Covenant (11-24) took a 6-3 lead in game two with a five-run sixth inning, but Piedmont (28-7) scored three in the seventh and won in the eighth. Jada Allmon had two RBIs and Shelby Ralston scored twice in that game for the Lady Scots. Carsyn Stone pitched a six-hitter in the first defeat. Earlier Thursday, Covenant sophomore catcher Faith Manning appeared on the USAS awards list as a West Division second-teamer, and freshman Cassee Wood was named to the all-sportsmanship team. Manning started all 35 games, 34 behind the plate, and batted .330 in the regular season.
» Cleveland State won 5-0 and 8-6 over visiting Southwest Tennessee in TCCAA games, the latter on Hannah Turner’s walk-off two-run home run. Aubrie Bowman hit a three-run homer in support of Kaitlyn Pickens’ shutout pitching in the first game.
Baseball
» Tennessee Wesleyan moved up a notch to No. 2 in the NAIA baseball poll this week, with six first-place votes (out of 18), and Thursday’s 11-10 Appalachian Athletic Conference come-from-behind home victory over Point University was the Bulldogs’ 19th win in 20 games. They had won 15-1 at Lindsey Wilson on Tuesday with Manny Perez going 3-for-4 with two doubles, Adrian Marquez hitting a home run and a double, Anthony Williams also homering and Chase Fullington matching those three with two RBIs. Perez was one of the four pitchers combining on a five-hitter. Thursday for TWU (39-7, 17-5), reigning AAC player of the week Tyler Reichenborn was 4-for-5 with two homers, a double, three RBIs and three runs while Williams also had three RBIs, Max Draijer was 3-for-5 with a homer and Bryce Giles doubled and capped a five-run eighth inning with a go-ahead two-run homer.
» Cleveland State won 6-0 and lost 7-3 in its TCCAA home doubleheader Thursday with Southwest Tennessee. Ryan Inches pitched the shutout with seven strikeouts, and Lance Dockery homered and matched Brock Browning with two RBIs for the Cougars. Reid Nelson was 2-for-3 with an RBI. Tucker Mendenhall hit a two-run homer in the loss.
Track & Field
» Tennessee Wesleyan junior Dillan Elkins repeated as the AAC men’s track athlete of the week for his 200- and 400-meter victories in the University of the Cumberlands meet that included five of the NAIA’s top 18 teams, and senior teammate Isaiah Woodruff was the league’s field honoree for his second-place, school-record triple jump. He was sixth in the long jump.