Softball separates from the pack
Jeremy Acree
Issue date: 4/16/09 Section: Sports
As the rest of the Southern Conference softball teams struggle to find their place in the standings, Chattanooga moves farther out front.
The Lady Mocs swept a Saturday doubleheader against Appalachian State to move their record to 12-2, three-and-a-half games ahead of second place Georgia Southern in the conference. UTC and Georgia Southern face off April 25 and 26, but by that time the standings could look completely different.
The only thing that seems certain is that the home team is going to play well.
Only Chattanooga and Western Carolina have winning road records in the conference, but the Cattamounts only road series was against College of Charleston - a team with a 6-8 SoCon record.
Early season struggles and an array of injuries are in the rear view mirror for the Lady Mocs as they head into the last few weeks of the regular season. The conference lead is formidable and there appears to be no looking back.
"We've worked hard to get there, but what it does is it puts a giant target on our back," coach Frank Reed said. "The good thing is we have to be better than everybody every day."
Against Appalachian State the key was pitching. Brooke Loudermilk, a junior from Locust Grove, Ga., started the first game and went six innings, giving up two runs but striking out ten in the process. From then on it was all Kaity Holloway, the sophomore from Chickamauga, Ga. She pitched three scoreless innings, holding the Mountaineers hitless.
Junior Brittany Eason, Chattanooga, and senior Toni Hutchison, Madison, Tenn., did the damage offensively with two hits apiece and Chattanooga took game one 3-2.
In the nightcap, one pitcher was enough for the Lady Mocs.
Michelle Fuzzard, the sophomore from Huntington Beach, Calif., pitched a shutout, allowing only four hits and a walk.
The focus for the Chattanooga pitchers has been throwing strikes all year. In the two games they gave up a total of three walks.
"One of the thing we talk about with our pitchers is they've got stay ahead in the count," Reed said. "If we're consistently going 2-0 we may have to call pitches we don't necessarily want to call. The statistics from 2-0 to 0-2 are phenomenal."
Tiffany Baker, a sophomore from East Ridge, Tenn., continued to tear through conference pitching. She hit her tenth home run of the season in the second game, and the Lady Mocs won 4-0.
This week Chattanooga takes a break from conference play and travels to the University of Alabama at Birmingham and the University of Kentucky for two doubleheaders. The next home game for the Lady Mocs is April 25, when they kick off a three-game set against the Georgia Southern Eagles.
The Lady Mocs swept a Saturday doubleheader against Appalachian State to move their record to 12-2, three-and-a-half games ahead of second place Georgia Southern in the conference. UTC and Georgia Southern face off April 25 and 26, but by that time the standings could look completely different.
The only thing that seems certain is that the home team is going to play well.
Only Chattanooga and Western Carolina have winning road records in the conference, but the Cattamounts only road series was against College of Charleston - a team with a 6-8 SoCon record.
Early season struggles and an array of injuries are in the rear view mirror for the Lady Mocs as they head into the last few weeks of the regular season. The conference lead is formidable and there appears to be no looking back.
"We've worked hard to get there, but what it does is it puts a giant target on our back," coach Frank Reed said. "The good thing is we have to be better than everybody every day."
Against Appalachian State the key was pitching. Brooke Loudermilk, a junior from Locust Grove, Ga., started the first game and went six innings, giving up two runs but striking out ten in the process. From then on it was all Kaity Holloway, the sophomore from Chickamauga, Ga. She pitched three scoreless innings, holding the Mountaineers hitless.
Junior Brittany Eason, Chattanooga, and senior Toni Hutchison, Madison, Tenn., did the damage offensively with two hits apiece and Chattanooga took game one 3-2.
In the nightcap, one pitcher was enough for the Lady Mocs.
Michelle Fuzzard, the sophomore from Huntington Beach, Calif., pitched a shutout, allowing only four hits and a walk.
The focus for the Chattanooga pitchers has been throwing strikes all year. In the two games they gave up a total of three walks.
"One of the thing we talk about with our pitchers is they've got stay ahead in the count," Reed said. "If we're consistently going 2-0 we may have to call pitches we don't necessarily want to call. The statistics from 2-0 to 0-2 are phenomenal."
Tiffany Baker, a sophomore from East Ridge, Tenn., continued to tear through conference pitching. She hit her tenth home run of the season in the second game, and the Lady Mocs won 4-0.
This week Chattanooga takes a break from conference play and travels to the University of Alabama at Birmingham and the University of Kentucky for two doubleheaders. The next home game for the Lady Mocs is April 25, when they kick off a three-game set against the Georgia Southern Eagles.
