Game 1 Box Score

Game 2 Box Score

ELON, N.C. – The Elon University opened up a three-game Southern Conference series on Saturday, April 2, at East Field against the Chattanooga Lady Mocs, but dropped both games , 7-5 in game one and 13-2 in game two. Elon drops to 15-13 (2-6 SoCon) on the year, while UTC improves to 24-8 and remains unbeaten in league play at 7-0.

Down six runs going into the seventh inning of game one, Elon rallied to push four runs across the plate to nearly pull off the comeback win. But the Lady Mocs managed to escape with the win, and then proceeded to pound out nine first-inning runs in game two to take a commanding lead and never look back.

Game One

Elon starter #Erin O’Shea# escaped a potential big inning from the Lady Mocs in the top of the first after Chattanooga loaded the bases with one out. But the junior from Kennesaw, Ga. managed to get out of the inning without any damage after inducing a UTC groundout and strike out to end the threat and the inning.

But UTC put the game’s first run on the board an inning later after a solo homer from Vivian Morimoto landed over the fence in right center to put the Phoenix behind, 1-0. Morimoto belted another solo bomb in the top of the fourth to extend Chattanooga’s lead to 2-0.

The Lady Mocs used the long-ball once again to extend their lead in the top of the fifth after a solo shot down the left field line from Michelle Fuzzard stayed in fair territory through the wind to put Elon down, 3-0.

Elon put its first runner in scoring position in the bottom of the fifth after back-to-back singles from Danielle Lafferty and Jackie Gonzalez put runners on first and second with two outs. But UTC’s Fuzzard got out of the inning after inducing a Carleigh Nester groundout to third base for the third out.

Elon put its second runner of the game in scoring position an inning later after Tomeka Watson singled and stole second with no outs to give the Phoenix momentum. After a Graham strikeout, Watson stole third during the next at-bat and scored after a wild throw down to third base from UTC catcher Natalie Powers to make it a 3-1 game. Elon nearly made it a two-run game following a McGowan double down the right field line, but Fuzzard stuck out Morgan Wright to end the inning and the threat.

Chattanooga’s Morimoto continued her dominance at the plate in the top of the seventh, as her three-run double off the fence in center field put the Phoenix behind late, 6-1. The Lady Mocs tacked on one more in the seventh to make it a 7-1 game.

Kaitlyn Piazzolla made it a five-run game in the bottom of the inning after cracking a solo home run over the fence in left to limit the Lady Mocs to a 7-2 lead. The homer marked Piazzolla’s second of the year. An RBI single from Watson later in the inning made it a 7-3 game after Gonzalez scored after singling earlier in the inning. Pam DelPizzo pulled the Phoenix even closer with two outs later in the inning, as her double to the gap in right center scored two runs to make it a 7-5 game. But that would be as close as the Phoenix would come, as UTC reliever Kandice Irwin managed to get the next out to secure the game-one win.

Watson went 2-for-4 with two runs and an RBI and stolen base in game one, while DelPizzo finished 1-for-4 with two RBI.

O’Shea went six and two-thirds innings in game one to take the loss and drop to 6-5 on the year. O’Shea gave up seven runs on 11 hits and two walks, while striking out six Lady Mocs.

Game Two

The Lady Mocs wasted no time taking a commanding lead in game two, pushing nine runs across the plate on six hits to take a 9-0 lead after the first half inning. Elon starter Lauren Taylor was pulled from the game after one out, but reentered the game later in the inning after DelPizzo could not stop the UTC attack.

Down 10 runs in the bottom of the third inning, the Phoenix managed to make it a 10-2 game after rookie Carleigh Nester smoked her first career home run over the fence in center field to pull Elon within eight runs. Nester finished the game 1-for-2 with a run scored and two RBI.

But that was as close as Elon would come, as the Lady Mocs tacked on three more runs to eventually take a 13-2 advantage and end the game in five innings.

The UTC offense exploded for 13 runs on 13 hits, while limiting the Elon offense to only two runs on two hits, despite the maroon and gold’s late offensive surge in game one.

The two teams wrap up the series tomorrow at 1 p.m. at East Field.