The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga softball team pulled out two victories again Saturday at the National Training Center Tournament at Clermont, Fla., and now is 4-0 for the event and the season.
After edging Bethune-Cookman 2-1 and beating Akron 6-3, the Mocs close out their opening weekend with a rematch against Bethune-Cookman this morning.
Cori Jennings pitched a six-hitter with six strikeouts against the Florida team Saturday, when Jordan Fortel was 2-for-4 with a double. UTC scored both of its runs in the second inning, when Katie Corum hit a one-out double, Amanda Beltran walked, Amanda Ross reached base on an error, Sam Taylor singled in Corum and Alysssa Taylor followed with an RBI forceout.
Bethune-Cookman’s Brianna Sanders was 2-for-3 with an RBI triple in the fourth inning.
Against Akron, Kailey Palazzola (1-0) and Fortel combined to pitch a five-hitter while catcher Anyssa Robles was 3-for-4 with an RBI. Corum was 2-for-3 with a two-run double, Criket Blanco doubled and singled, J.J. Hamill had an RBI single and Sam Taylor scored twice.
“We played a lot of different people today, and we’re not dropping off,” Mocs coach Frank Reed said in a school release. “We have a lot of different types of players.”
‘ West Florida 6, Lee 3: At Cleveland, the Argonauts scored four runs in the top of the first inning and avoided a weekend Gulf South Conference sweep by the Lady Flames. Rhiannon Sassman was 2-for-4 with a homer and three RBIs for West Florida (7-3, 1-2). Amanda Lynn was 3-for-4 and Lexie Dean had a two-run double for Lee (7-4, 2-1).
‘ Covenant 7-11, Wesleyan 0-0: At Macon, Ga., the Lady Scots began their season with two shutout wins, as Joni Johnson pitched a five-hitter and Cris Gant and Carsyn Stone combined on a five-inning four-hitter.
Jordan Brett and Morgan Lane each was 3-for-4 with two RBIs in the first game, when Shannon Schmitt was 2-for-4 with two RBIs and Johnson and Shade Epes each was 2-for-3. Schmitt was 2-for-3 with two RBIs and two runs in game two, while Kendall Whann was 3-for-4 and Madison Quirk was 2-for-3 with a triple and three RBIs. Johnson was 2-for-2 with two RBIs, and her sister Jami, Brett and Lane each scored twice.
Geathers contributes
Shaliyah Geathers from East Hamilton was 2-for-3 with a triple, a walk and two runs scored in eighth-ranked Tennessee’s 7-3 loss Friday to Fresno State in the Kajikawa Classic in Tempe, Ariz., and she doubled and scored in a later eight-inning 5-4 loss to No. 20 Arizona State.
Geathers had an RBI in Thursday’s 15-3 win over BYU after a two-run double in the 5-0 opening win over Creighton.
Saturday, Tennessee (4-2) won 9-2 over San Jose State and gave Northwestern its first loss of the season, 8-2. Geathers had two sacrifice bunts, walked and was hit by a pitch against Northwestern. She scored a run.