Chattanooga, Tenn. – Chattanooga pitchers held Furman to just one run over 14 innings as the Mocs captured a 6-1, 3-0 doubleheader sweep of the Paladins in Southern Conference softball action on Saturday afternoon at Frost Stadium.
 
With the sweep, the first place Mocs improved to 33-13 overall and 12-5 in the SoCon. Furman fell to 21-28 overall and 6-12 in conference play.
 
Game 1: Chattanooga 6, Furman 1
 
A five-run fifth inning proved to be the difference in the series opener as Chattanooga rallied for a 6-1 victory over the Paladins.
 
Furman took the lead in the top of the third inning. Ashlee Lykins and Caitlin Goldwait opened the frame with base hits and moved into scoring position on Sylvia Burroughs' sacrifice bunt. Kiley Perry followed with a sacrifice fly to center field to score Lykins. 
 
Starter Sierra Tufts pitched four shutout frames for the Paladins before the Mocs erupted for five runs in the bottom of the fifth. A hit batter and back-to-back singles from Kailey Snell and Camryn Cernuto evened the game at 1-1. Olivia Lipari worked a walk to load the bases and Baileigh Pitts was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded to force in the go-ahead run. After Emme Buzhardt came on in relief of Tufts, Cernuto scampered home on a passed ball and Kendall Forsythe laced a double into left-center field to drive in two more runs and increase the Chattanooga lead to 5-1.
 
Chattanooga's Peja Goold improved to 6-3 in the circle by tossing a complete game. The righthander limited the Paladins to a run on five hits while striking out eight batters.
 
Tufts (10-9) took the loss for the Paladins after surrendering five runs on five hits over 4.1 innings of work. She walked just one batter and fanned three but plunked a pair of Mocs.
 
Snell and Cernuto, the No. 1 and No. 2 hitters in the Chattanooga's order, both went 3-for-4 at the plate. Lykins finished 2-for-4 for the Paladins.
 
Game 2: Chattanooga 3, Furman 0
 
Alyssa Lavdis tossed a complete-game shutout and Kaili Phillips belted two solo home runs to power the Mocs to a 3-0 victory in game two on Saturday.
 
Lavdis (9-5) allowed three hits over the first two innings before retiring the final 17 batters she faced. She fanned four batters without giving up a walk en route to earning the win.
 
Phillips hammered a solo home run to center field in the bottom of the second inning and doubles the Chattanooga lead with another solo blast in the fifth off Paladin starter Lauralee Scott. The roundtrippers marked the 12^th and 13^th homers of the season for the Mocs' third baseman.
 
Cernuto went 2-for-3 with a double while Phillips finished 2-for-2 to lead the Chattanooga offense. Goldwait, Hannah Poole, and Ainsley Yoshizumi each registered a hit for the Paladins. 
 
Scott (7-5) took the defeat after giving up three runs on five hits over six innings of work. The Greenwood, S.C., product walked one and notched four strikeouts.
 
Furman and Chattanooga conclude this weekend's series with a single game on Sunday at 2 p.m. at Frost Stadium.