Cori Jennings gave up more hits than University of Tennessee at Chattanooga softball coach Frank Reed would have liked on Saturday.
Maybe she gave up too many runs, but the Mocs edged Furman 5-4 at Frost Stadium to take their opening Southern Conference series two games to one.
Jennings earned her second win of the series and eighth of the season despite allowing 14 hits and four runs – all earned. UTC scored in three consecutive innings to build a three-run lead and overcame a seventh-inning home run by AnnaRose Borelli.
Pitching in her third consecutive game in less than 24 hours, the sophomore left-hander put forth the type of effort that epitomizes the team at this point.
“I thought Cori was awesome,” Reed said. “We changed the way she attacked, and you’ve got to be proud of her. She scattered hits – dinks – and that’s what you’ll get from her, but you know she was tired. She was fighting, we’re fighting, and that was a good thing for us.
“You’ve got to be proud of this team. They’re digging so deep, and the average Joe on the street wouldn’t understand, but we’re finding ways to win. We’re a totally different team now – different from even last week – but I’m proud of how they’ve represented the school. I can’t say enough about this team. We probably should have won all three ballgames, but we’re still holding on and I feel good about what we’re doing.”
The Mocs (19-16 overall) are on the road next weekend at Samford.
Furman (16-16) left nine runners on base as Jennings and the UTC defense worked their way out of some jams in the second, fourth and fifth innings, as well as the top of the seventh after the Paladins put the tying run on base with one out following Borelli’s shot.
Jennings forced Emma Ogburn to pop out to right field and struck out pinch-hitter Taylor Vahle to end the game.
“I’m exhausted,” said Jennings, completing her second weekend back after missing three weeks due to bruised ribs. “I definitely think at that point (late in the game), it’s all mental. You have to work every pitch to spin as hard as you can and hit your spots really well, because the physical starts to fail you.”
Sam Taylor was 3-for-4 with a pair of runs scored, while Alyssa Taylor, Jordan Fortel, Criket Blanco and Katie Corum each had two hits. Corum’s home run in the bottom of the fourth was her first of the season and gave the team a 4-1 lead.
“It was huge coming out on top in the first weekend,” Sam Taylor said. “We got one under our belt, and now we can relax because we’ve shown we can do it. Now we have some confidence going into Samford.”
Contact Gene Henley at ghenley@timesfreepress.com. Follow him at twitter.com/genehenleytfp.