The Elon University softball team split the first two of a three game road series with Southern Conference foe University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, dropping the first game 3-0 before salvaging the second game 5-4 in extra innings.
In the first game, neither team was able to break the stalemate until the bottom of the third, when Mocs junior third baseman Sarah Beth Roberts hit a two-out single to right with a runner on second to give her team a 1-0 lead.
An inning later, Chattanooga would add another on a one-out groundout to second from freshman first baseman Jesslyn Stockard to stretch its lead to 2-0.
In the bottom of the sixth, the Mocs added an extra insurance run on a single from sophomore second baseman Criket Blanco to go up 3-0, which held up after Chattanooga held the Phoenix scoreless in the top of the seventh.
Mocs sophomore starter Katie Henderson was superb, shutting out the Phoenix in a complete game four-hitter for her twelfth win of the season.
Phoenix junior starter Caitlin O’Shea was saddled with her ninth loss of the season after lasting six innings, giving up three runs on four hits and walking two.
In the second game of the day, the Phoenix used a two out home run from junior first baseman Grace Eng in the top of the eighth to give Elon a hard-earned 5-4 win.
The Mocs broke through first in the bottom of the third on singles from sophomore shortstop Alyssa Taylor and Bianco to put Chattanooga up 2-0.
But the Phoenix answered in the top of the fourth on a double to center from junior third baseman Aly Quintana, which knotted the game at 2-2.
An inning later, the Phoenix took a 4-2 lead on a single to center from senior shortstop Ali Ford and an error from Mocs pitcher Taylor Deason.
The Mocs cut the Phoenix lead to one, 4-3, in the bottom of the fifth on sophomore catcher Anyssa Robles foul out to left field and later knotted the game at 4-4 in the bottom of the seventh on an error from Phoenix senior second baseman Lauren Oldham.
The Phoenix couldn’t walk off with the win in the last of the seventh, setting up Eng’s heroics in the first extra inning.
Elon junior reliever Chelsea White was given the win after relieving freshman starter Alli Burdette. White went the last two innings, giving up one run on two hits, walking one and striking out two.
With the split, the Phoenix moves to 19-17-1 overall, 3-8 in the Southern Conference, while the Mocs move to 22-15 overall, 7-3 in conference play.