Softball Mocs win, lose in Challenge
The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga softball team won its program-record eighth game in a row to start a season but couldn’t make it nine Saturday in its Chattanooga Challenge.
The Mocs beat Dayton 8-0 in five innings at Jim Frost Stadium before losing 7-0 to Kennesaw State in a turnabout from last weekend when UTC defeated KSU 15-4 at the Owls’ tournament.
Against Dayton, Allison Swinford pitched a six-hitter and pinch-hitter Morgan Kazerooni ended the game early with a three-run home run. Emily Coltharp was 3-for-4 with an RBI and a run, Amanda Beltran was 2-for-3 with two runs and an RBI, Gracey Kruse was 1-for2 and also scored twice and Katie Corum and Halie Williamson each was 1-for-1 with an RBI.
Alyssa Coppinger was 1-for2 in the KSU game, when the Mocs had only three hits and made four errors.
› At Cleveland, Tennessee, Lee University won 8-4 and lost 7-1 against Valdosta State in a Gulf South Conference doubleheader. Taylor De Adder pitched the win for Lee (7-8, 1-2) with seven strikeouts and two earned runs and went 3-for-4 and matched Zoe Miller with two RBIs. Abby McKinney was 2-for-2 and scored two runs, while Kayla Louie, Lily Hatcher, Kayla Gooch and Kiley Longmire each was 2-for-4, Louie and Gooch scoring twice as well.
Bailey Church was 2-for3 with a homer in Lee’s loss. Haley Garrett and Jordenne Gaten took turns with two homers among three hits for VSU (10-2, 2-1).
› At Winter Haven, Florida, Bryan College won 7-3 and 8-0 Saturday against Ave Maria after losing 3-1 to 11th-ranked Campbellsville and 2-1 to Warner on Friday in the RussMatt Classic. All the runs in the Warner game came in the seventh inning — one for each team unearned — as Bryan’s Sydney West pitched a five-hitter with no walks. Shannon White was 2-for-3 against Campbellsville, which had a three-run homer in the first inning.
Heidi Smith was 3-for-3 with four RBIs and Destiny McSwain had two RBIs in the first win for Bryan (2-4), and Austyn Durham was 2-for-4 in that game and homered with three RBIs in the finale, when Hannah O’Shields was 2-for-3 and Maryah Sober was 1-for-1 with two RBIs. Sydney Olander was 3-for-6 with four stolen bases, two RBIs and four runs scored in the doubleheader, and Olivia Johnson and West were the winning pitchers.
› At Demorest, Georgia, Covenant’s Piedmont Classic games against Sewanee and Centre were rained out and the Lady Scots lost 10-0 to Birmingham-Southern with an eight-run first inning. Covenant (0-3) had two hits. Sewanee was canceled against Piedmont also.