Greenville, S.C. – Chattanooga's Kendall Forsythe delivered a pinch-hit grand slam in the sixth inning as the Mocs rallied from a 4-0 deficit to win 6-4 and complete a doubleheader sweep of Furman on Saturday afternoon at Pepsi Stadium. The Mocs downed the Paladins 10-6 in Saturday's series opener.
With the sweep, Chattanooga improved to 23-22 overall and 6-8 in Southern Conference play. The Paladins slid to 20-28 overall and 8-8 in the league with their fourth loss in their last five outings.
Furman led game two by a score of 4-0 after five innings before Kaili Phillips homered to open the sixth and put the Mocs on the board. Starter
Sierra Tufts retired two of the next three batters, but Addy Keylon was plunked by a pitch to keep the inning alive. A grounder to third base looked like the answer to get Tufts out of the inning but it was misplayed, loading the bases with two outs. After a walk to Presley Williamson forced in one run, Forsythe hammered a 2-2 pitch over the center field fence for her second homer of the season to give Chattanooga a 6-4 lead.
Alyssa Ladvis (5-1) stranded a pair of Paladin runners in the bottom of the sixth and sat Furman down in order in the seventh to earn the victory. The Mocs' pitcher allowed just one earned run, four total, on six hits. She notched five strikeouts without issuing a walk.
Tufts (10-12) took the loss after allowing six runs, just one earned, on six hits in six innings in the circle. She walked three and struck out two.
Furman took advantage of two Chattanooga errors and three hits, including an RBI single by
Chloe Fabio, to plate three runs in the bottom of the second inning and take the early lead.
Kiley Perry blasted her league-leading 14
thhome run of the season to straightaway center in the bottom of the third to up the margin to 4-0 before Chattanooga mounted its rally.
Perry and
Alex Rose Molinar each registered two hits apiece in the game two defeat for Furman. Olivia Lipari went 2-for-3 for the Mocs with Phillips and Williams chipping in an RBI.
Chattanooga notched 10 runs on 12 hits to power past the Paladins in the opening game of the series on Saturday.
The Mocs scored at least one run in each of the first four innings to build a 6-3 lead and Lavdis worked two scoreless innings of relief to pick up her second save of the season. Jayce Purdy, who went 3-for-4 with three RBIs in the opener, homered in the second to give Chattanooga a 2-0 lead. Furman's
Hana Suniga answered with a solo blast in the bottom of the frame and the Paladins knotted the game at 2-2 on Fabio's squeeze bunt that scored Molinar.
Chattanooga grabbed the lead for good in the third inning by scoring three runs on four hits. Keylon ripped a go-ahead double and Purdy and Williamson followed with RBI singles.
Riley Ludlam cracked her 10
th home run of the year in the bottom of the third before a solo blast from
Ainsley Yoshizumi and run-scoring single from Perry trimmed the margin to 6-5 after four innings.
The Mocs, however, pulled away with four runs in the top of the sixth. Back-to-back walks started the frame and Emily Coltharp lined a single into left-center to plate the first run. Accelyn Sellers followed another base on balls with an RBI single and Keylon and Purdy both batted in runs to blow the game open.
Chattanooga reliever Peja Goold (8-8) picked up the win, despite allowing two runs on two hits and four walks in 1.2 innings. Furman starter
Emme Buzhardt (7-7) was tagged with the loss after allowing five runs on six hits in three innings.
Coltharp joined Purdy in notching three hits in the game for the Mocs while Sellers and Keylon each added two RBIs. Ludlam went 2-for-2 with a double, homer, and two walks to pace the Paladins' offense. Suniga, getting the start behind the plate on senior day, contributed two hits.
Furman and Chattanooga conclude their three-game SoCon series on Sunday at Pepsi Stadium. First pitch is slated for 1 p.m. and the game will be streamed live on ESPN+.
