CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. – The Chattanooga Mocs softball team continues its 2015 Southern Conference slate with a trip to Macon, Ga. to face the Mercer Bears in a three-game weekend set.
The two teams will open the series at 6 p.m. ET on Saturday, and will wrap up the series with a doubleheader beginning at 12 p.m. on Sunday. The series opener will be streamed on the SoCon Digital Network.
Chattanooga (29-9. 10-1 SoCon) is playing in its fifth SoCon series of the season after posting a series sweep against UNCG, ETSU and Western Carolina and a series win over Furman.
Mercer (31-17, 7-4 SoCon) has conference series wins over Western Carolina, Furman and Samford, but has split against UNCG. The Bears have an 18-7 record at home this season and are currently second in SoCon standings behind Chattanooga.
Live stats for all three games will be available at GoMocs.com
SCOUTING MERCER
Series: The Mocs come into the weekend with an 18-9 advantage over the Bears having first played them in 1994. The two teams last met in the 2013 Mercer Bear Classic, where they split on the second day of the tournament. The Bears claimed the first match up in a close 3-2 victory while the Mocs rebounded for an outstanding 8-2 win to advance to the championship game against Northern Kentucky.
Taylor Deason guided the Mocs as she tossed seven innings, allowing just one earned run to the Bears. Deason received offensive support with 16 hits-six coming from Anyssa Robles and former Moc Kasey Tydingco as they were both 3-for-4 at the plate.
Bear Notables: In its inaugural season in the Southern Conference, Mercer has been impressive going 7-4 in league games to rate second in the league. The Bears' offense has five batters hitting over .300. Freshman Shayla Kicklighter has recently warmed at the bat as leads the team with a .667 average in only three at bats. Riley Carter comes in second at .423, followed by Taylor Miller with .409, Meghan Rud at .356 and Natalie Shiver at .330.
Pacing Mercer's defense is four-time SoCon Pitcher of the Week, Kristen Stevens. Going 20-7, Stevens leads the conference with 170 batters struck out. Most recently, the sophomore compiled a 1-1 record with a 0.54 ERA in 13.0 innings pitched for Mercer as the Bears took two of three from Samford. The hurler scattered 12 hits over two starts, allowing just two runs (one earned) with one walk against 11 strikeouts.
To Be or Not to Be?
With a league-leading 10-1 record, Chattanooga only needs to win two of its three games against Mercer to become the 2015 SoCon Regular Season Champion. If the Mocs claim the series against the Bears it would be the 14th regular season title for Chattanooga. However, should UTC drop the series against the SoCon Newcomer, the Mocs would have to sweep Samford next weekend to keep Mercer from having an opportunity to share the regular season title
Reed Owns Chattanooga Wins Record
Reaching two major milestones this season, head coach Frank Reed has solidified his spot as Chattanooga softball's all-time winningest coach. Reed, now with 1,003 careers wins has guided the Mocs to more than half of the program's 831 victories. In his 14th season with the Mocs, Reed has registered a 527-308 record at Chattanooga. Reed secured his 500th win at UTC as the Mocs defeated George Washington, 4-2 and Evansville, 5-3 in the opening day of the Plainsman Invitational earlier this season. He then went on to claim his 1,000th career win with a 7-5 win over the Furman Paladins on April 14.
Step-By-Step
With a 29-9 record for the 2015 softball season, the Mocs find themselves ranked within the top 50 teams in the NCAA RPI. The Chattanooga softball team is ranked 43rd, up one spot from last week's 44th ranking. Mercer is the second highest ranked SoCon team at 81st.
Chattanooga has faced five teams in the top 50 thus far including Auburn (No.3), Kansas (No. 22), South Alabama (No.30), Georgia State (No. 43) and UAB (No. 45).
Team Leaders:
Average: Roberts (.406)
Home Runs: Osterman (12)
RBI: Osterman (38)
Walks: Robles (20)
Stolen Bases: Wilkerson and S. Taylor (2)
ERA: Jennings (2.32)
Wins: Jennings (12)
Innings Pitched: Deason and Jennings (102.2)
Strikeouts: Deason (97)
Batting Average Against: Palazzolo (.213)
2015 Softball Players of the Week
Feb. 23 – Nicole Osterman
Mar. 30 – Nicole Osterman
Apr. 13 – Sarah Beth Roberts
2015 Softball Pitchers of the Week
Feb. 23 – Cori Jennings
Mar. 23 – Cori Jennings
Southern Conference Athletes of the Month
February Player – Sam Taylor
February Pitcher – Taylor Deason
Chattanooga Softball Dominates SoCon Opponents
Chattanooga is 10-1 in the Southern Conference with a 5-0 league record at home and a 5-1 showing on the road. The Mocs swept UNCG, ETSU and Western Carolina, while winning the Furman series. At the plate, Chattanooga is outhitting conference .328 to .240. The Mocs have outscored conference opposition 33 runs, tallying 68 runs to the visitors' 35.
In the circle, Chattanooga has posted a 2.69 team ERA versus league opponents, while conference foes have combined for a team ERA of 6.08. Additionally, the Mocs have struck out SoCon opposition 44 times, while UTC has only been struck out 35 times.
Hitting Team Notes
- Chattanooga is first in the Southern Conference and 44th nationally with a .493 slugging percentage. The league-leading slugging percentage is the best from Chattanooga since 2012 when the Mocs registered .563.
-The Mocs rank fourth in the SoCon and 104th in the nation with a .296 batting average.
- UTC's 1.76 doubles per game rate 11th in the nation and first in the SoCon.
- The Mocs lead the SoCon with 1.03 homeruns per game ranking 44th nationally.
- At 200 runs scored Chattanooga is 89th in the NCAA with 5.26 runs per game.
- Chattanooga leads the SoCon with 67 doubles.
- The Mocs rank 25th nationally and first in the SoCon with a .763 WL percentage.
- UTC has the sixth fewest at-bats in the league, 995. Samford leads the conference with 1,323 at-bats.
Hitting Individual Notes
- Sam Taylor leads the Southern Conference and is 38th in the NCAA at .34 doubles per game. Sarah Beth Roberts follows with .31 doubles per game to rate second in the league and 65th nationally.
- Upperclassmen Criket Blanco and Nicole Osterman are tied for third and 73rd nationally at 0.24 hit-by-pitches per game.
- Nicole Osterman tops the conference with .32 home runs per game to rank 53rd in the NCAA. The senior also holds the most homeruns in the SoCon with 12.
- Senior Sarah Beth Roberts holds a league-best .488 on-base percentage to rate in the top 150 nationally.
- Junior Criket Blanco leads the conference with four sac-flies to rank 24th in the nation. Teammates Nicole Osterman and Anyssa Robles are tied for second in the SoCon and 64th in the NCAA with three apiece.
- Nicole Osterman is first in the SoCon and 56th in the nation with a .800 slugging percentage.
Pitching Team Notes
- The Mocs rank 35th in the NCAA and are first in the SoCon with a 2.53 team ERA.
- Chattanooga's .236 opponent batting average in first in the league.
- UTC is second in the SoCon for batters struck out looking at 52.
- Chattanooga is the only team in the SoCon to have less than 100 earned runs allowed at 91.
- The Mocs have given up the fewest homeruns (9) and fanned out the fewest wild pitches (9) in the league.
- Chattanooga pitchers have allowed just 230 hits this season, the fewest in the Conference. ETSU has allowed 340, the most in the league.
The Mocs have only hit seven batters, the least in the SoCon.
- UTC has recorded eight shutouts this season.
Pitching Individual Notes
- Cori Jennings is second in the SoCon and 87th nationally with a 2.32 ERA.
- Taylor Deason ranks third in the conference and 95th in the NCAA with a 2.39 ERA.
- Kailey Palazzolo is 5-0 this season with 15 appearances.
