CLERMONT, Fla. — The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga softball team opened the 2011 season Friday with a split of its first two games at Dot Richardson’s National Collegiate Invitational.
The Lady Mocs opened with a 2-1 win over Florida Atlantic before falling 6-1 against Georgia Tech.
Against Florida Atlantic, UTC took a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the second inning when sophomore second baseman Sara Poteat hit a bases-loaded double down the left-field line to score UTC newcomers Vivian Morimoto and Kaiti Dutton.
Freshman Natalie Powers had a single to keep the inning alive for Poteat.
UTC senior Nikki Waters pitched five effective innings and into the sixth inning before she ran into trouble. Florida Atlantic put runners on third and second with no outs when Kandice Irwin came on for the Lady Mocs. Irwin worked around another hit and an error but allowed only one run to score and preserve the lead.