Mocs Rally to Beat Western Carolina and Stay Alive in SoCon Tournament

(gomocs.com)

— Baileigh Pitts delivered a career night at the plate and Chattanooga rallied late with a four-run seventh inning to defeat Western Carolina 7-6 on Friday in the Southern Conference Softball Tournament at Jim Frost Stadium.

The fifth-seeded Mocs erased a late deficit behind timely and aggressive hitting and strong pitching from senior Taylor Long, who struck out 11 batters in a complete-game effort. She moved to fifth on the Mocs all-time strikeout list.

Pitts powered Chattanooga offensively, going 4-for-4 with two doubles, a home run and four RBIs. Her biggest swing came in the third inning, when she launched a three-run homer to center field to give the Mocs an early 3-0 lead.

Western Carolina, the tournament’s No. 3 seed, answered with a four-run fifth inning and added two more runs in the sixth to take a 6-3 advantage. The Catamounts capitalized on a Chattanooga error and got a two-run homer during their surge.

Trailing, entering their final at-bat, the Mocs rallied in the seventh. Chattanooga collected five hits in the inning and pushed across four runs, highlighted by contributions throughout the lineup. A pinch-hit RBI single from Abi Bunt sparked the rally, while Chloe Lackey drove in the go-ahead run on a single through the left side.

Ava Cowart scored twice and added two hits, while Annika Segedi also scored two runs for Chattanooga, which finished with 11 hits. Raven Jones chipped in with two hits, including a double.

Long allowed six runs – only two earned – on six hits, working around seven walks to secure the victory. She closed the game with a scoreless seventh despite heavy traffic earlier in the contest.

With the win, Chattanooga advances in the double-elimination tournament to face #4 seed Wofford at 1:00 p.m. Saturday. The Terriers sent the Mocs into the consolation bracket Thursday with a 2-0 win over the Mocs.