The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga softball team began the Southern Conference portion of its 2019 season with 3-2 and 9-0 wins Saturday at Furman. The Mocs (23-7) won the first game with an unearned run in the eighth inning.
Devan Brown gave UTC a lead with a two-run double in the fourth inning, but solo home runs off Celie Hudson in the sixth and seventh tied the score. Hudson struck out nine batters, and Mariah Ramirez (10-0) added three strikeouts in two innings of relief.
Allison Swinford (5-2) pitched five of the six innings in the second game, allowing four hits, and the Mocs scored four runs in their first at-bat, Amanda Beltran hitting a two-run single between one-run singles by Emma Sturdivant and Hayleigh Weissenbach. Sturdivant had another RBI single in the second, and Weissenbach added a sacrifice fly in the fourth and a two-run homer in the sixth.
Weissenbach and Beltran each was 2-for-3 in that game, and Emily Coltharp, Gracey Kruse and Sturdivant each was 2-for-4. Kruse and Halie Williamson each scored twice. Cammy Pereira was 6-for-8 with a homer and two doubles in the two games for Furman (8-20).
» Lee 6-10, Christian Brothers 0-1: At Cleveland, Abby McKinney was 4-for-5 with three home runs, six RBIs and six runs scored in the Gulf South Conference sweep for the Lady Flames (13-18, 3-10), and Taylor De Adder followed Shonna Penney’s three-hit shutout by allowing two hits and an unearned run in five innings.
De Adder walked twice and scored twice in the first game, when Zoe Miller supplemented McKinney’s four RBIs with a two-run double, and was 2-for-3 along with Claudia Jones and Kiley Longmire in the rematch. Jones homered and batted in five runs.
» Cleveland State 6-2, Chattanooga State 2-8: At Cleveland, the host Lady Cougars beat the nationally 12th-ranked Lady Tigers behind Kaitlyn Pickens’ nine-strikeout pitching in the first game of their TCCAA doubleheader Saturday but managed only three hits off Brooke Parrott in the series finale.
Parrott struck out 11, while Kayla Woody was 3-for-4 with three stolen bases and three runs scored, Haley Smith had two RBIs, Madison Crabtree tripled and singled and Shelby Penning doubled and singled. Breanna Vinson was 3-for-4 with two doubles, an RBI and a run for the Lady Tigers (21-5, 8-2) in game one, when Aubrie Bowman hit a two-run homer for Cleveland State (11-12, 4-8).
» LaGrange 9-9, Covenant 4-3: On Lookout Mountain, the Lady Scots dropped to 7-12, 2-2 in the USA South. Erika Mast and Shelby Ralston each was 2-for-3 and scored a run and Carlin Labuzan hit a three-run double for Covenant in the first game, and Faith Manning was 2-for-3 with a two-run single in game two.
» Tennessee Wesleyan 11-12, Montreat 8-3: Friday at Montreat, the Lady Bulldogs improved to 17-1, 14-0 in the AAC, as Baylee Sutton went 5-for-10 with three homers and nine RBIs. Shea Lipe scored four runs in the first game and tripled and singled with three RBIs in game two, when Briana Muller was 3-for-4 and scored three runs.
Olivia Housewright was 2-for-4 with three RBIs and two runs in the first game.