Sturdivant’s first career home run lifts Mocs over Tigers, 2-1

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (UTC Athletics) – The Chattanooga Mocs softball team used timely hitting and solid pitching in a 2-1 win over Tennessee State on the final day of the Chattanooga Challenge held at Frost Stadium.

The Mocs improve to 4-5 on the season and have now won six-straight games against TSU. The Tigers fell to 0-9.

The game saw its first runs when Emma Sturdivant belted her first career homerun, a solo shot, in the bottom of the second to give the Mocs a 1-0 lead.

.@EmmaSturdivant with her FIRST CAREER HOME RUN! Congratulations!!! @GoMocsSB @GoMocs pic.twitter.com/dw3xvhX85c

— Angela Moryan (@SidelineStormer) February 19, 2018

Celie Hudson got the nod in the circle today and kept TSU off the board for five full innings. The Tigers scratched out a run in the top of the sixth with a two-out double to the left field fence to tie the game up at 1-1. Hudson ended the inning with her fourth strikeout of the game.

The Mocs would answer in the bottom half of the sixth when Aly Walker singled with one out before advancing to second on a wild pitch with two outs. Amanda Beltran stepped up with a single up the middle to bring in the go-ahead run in Walker, giving UTC a 2-1 lead heading into the final frame.

Hudson (2-2) would retire the Tigers in order on just six pitches to earn the win. She finished the day with a complete game and allowed only five hits and one run (earned) while striking out four.

Strudivant ended the day by going 2-for-3 with a homerun and RBI. She leads the team with a .450 batting average and seven RBIs this season. Beltran went 1-for-2 with a single and game winning RBI. Weissenbach and Walker each went 1-for-3 with a single in the win.

Chattanooga will return to action on Friday for the first day of the Frost Classic held at Frost Stadium, facing IUPUI at 1:30 p.m. and Eastern Illinois at 4:00 p.m. For the entire tournament schedule, ticket information and more, please visit our Frost Classic Tournament Central page.