Mocs Sweep Doubleheader Against Mercer Including Walk-Off Winner in Game Two
(gomocs.com) The Chattanooga softball team swept Mercer Friday afternoon at Frost Stadium in Southern Conference action winning the opener 8-0 in five innings and recorded its fifth walk-off of the season with a 6-5, 10-inning affair.
Taylor Long earned both wins and struck out nine in 8-1/3 innings. She didn’t give up a run and allowed just two hits. Sophia Guerra struck out seven in Game Two, a career-high.
Anna Dovey went 5-for-8 on the day with two RBI, two doubles and two runs scored. Baileigh Pitts went 4-for-7 with a home run and two RBI. Mia Leone drove in four runs, had two sac flies and was hit by a pitch while hitting .500 (2-4).
GAME ONE: Chattanooga 8, Mercer 0 / 5 innings
Chattanooga used a six-run third inning and a dominant pitching performance to open its Southern Conference doubleheader with an 8-0, five-inning victory over Mercer on Friday afternoon at Jim Frost Stadium.
The Mocs broke open a scoreless game in the bottom of the third, sending 12 batters to the plate and collecting six hits in the frame and left the bases loaded. Zoe Wright led off the inning and with one out Annika Segedi reached on a single to third.
Baileigh Pitts sparked the rally with an RBI single up the middle to score Wright, and Chattanooga added five more runs during the inning on three singles, a hit by pitch and two walks.
Anna Dovey singled to reload the bases and Mia Leone’s single through the right side plated the second run and Raven Jones single through the left side made it 3-0 for the Mocs with one out.
After a pitching change, Chloe Lackey was hit by the pitch on an 0-1 count to sent Dovey across the plate and walks for Lexi Cooley and Wright drove in two more for a 6-0 lead.
Pitts led off the fourth with a solo shot to center and Dovey followed with a double to right center. She took left on an error and Izzy Carlyle came in to run. Leone lofted a shot into left field to drive Carlyle home for the sacrifice.
Chattanooga sat the Bears down in order to secure the run-rule victory.
Taylor Long struck out seven and allowed just two hits in five innings of work. Pitts finished 2-for-3 with two RBIs, a solo home run and two runs scored. Dovey went 2-for-3 with a run and Mia Leone drove in two runs on one hit.
Mercer was limited to two hits in the game and left seven runners on base. Grace Jones recorded both hits for the Bears.
GAME TWO: Chattanooga 6, Mercer 5 / 10 innings
The Mocs rallied from an early five-run deficit and walked-off Mercer, 6-5, in 10 innings Friday afternoon at Jim Frost Stadium to earn a Southern Conference victory and a sweep on the day.
Chattanooga trailed 5-0 before its first at bat. The Mocs went on to score in four different innings, tie it up in the sixth and get their fifth walk-off of the year with a run in the 10th.
UTC answered Mercer’s first-inning outburst with two runs in the home half of the frame. With bases loaded on a single and two walks, Anna Dovey dropped a shot into shallow left field scoring Ava Cowart. Mia Leone followed with a sac fly to center, scoring Annika Segedi.
Sophia Guerra came on in the second and after issuing a walk to start the inning, struck out the next three.
The Mocs added two more runs in the third on three two-out singles. Pitts singled to center and reached second on a passed ball. Dovey singled up the middle, driving in Pitts and took second on the throw home. That left her in scoring position for Leone who singled up the middle, drawing the Mocs to within a run at 5-4.
Abi Pikas, who had three hits, led off the sixth with a single to the pitcher and took second on a wild pitch. Lexi Cooley sacrificed her over to third and she was sprinting for home on a bunt by Ava Cowart, tying the game and forcing extra innings.
Pikas paced the offense, going 3-for-3 with two runs scored. Dovey was 3-for-5 with two RBI and Pitts added a pair of hits. Leone drove in two runs and recorded a sacrifice fly as the Mocs finished with 13 hits on the afternoon.
In the circle, Chattanooga pitching rebounded after the opening inning and shut down Mercer the rest of the way. Sophia Guerra provided 5.2 strong innings in relief, allowing no runs and striking out a career-high seven. Taylor Long was dominant in extras, tossing 3.1 scoreless innings without allowing a hit to earn the win.
UP NEXT
The Mocs and Bears return to the diamond Saturday at 1:00 p.m. to conclude the series.
