An awakened offense and the pitching of sophomore ace Brooke Loudermilk powered the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga softball team into the final day of the Southern Conference tournament at Mount Pleasant, S.C.

The top-seeded Lady Mocs won two elimination games Friday, 9-2 over Appalachian State and 5-2 over host College of Charleston.

UTC coach Frank Reed said he was happy with how the team bounced back from Thursday’s loss to UNC Greensboro.

“As bad as we looked yesterday, we looked great today,” Reed said. “They did a nice job of it today.”

UTC freshman Tiffany Baker’s two-run home run against College of Charleston opened the scoring for the Lady Mocs in their second win Friday at the Southern Conference tournament.

Loudermilk, who got the opening-round win Wednesday against Western Carolina, was the winning pitcher in both games Friday. She pitched five innings of one-hit ball against Appalachian State and a complete-game four-hitter to eliminate Charleston.

Loudermilk, two-time SoCon pitcher of the year, struck out 15 batters in the two games.

“I felt like I had more control in the second game,” she said. “I felt stronger as the day went on.”

Senior Tara Tembey and junior Toni Hutchison belted home runs as the Lady Mocs (38-20) pounded out 11 hits against Appalachian State and scored in every inning except the third.

Redshirt freshman Tiffany Baker broke a 0-0 tie in the late game against Charleston with a two-out, two-run homer in the fourth inning. Junior right fielder Laci Upchurch had a three-run shot in the sixth, and the Lady Mocs held on for the win despite two solo home runs by Charleston in the top of the seventh.

After managing only four hits in Thursday’s loss, UTC totaled 19 Friday. Tembey went 5-for-8 for the day, and Upchurch had five RBIs.

“I felt good out there today,” Upchurch said. “Our pitching is on right now, and we feel really strong.”

UTC has a rematch with UNCG in the losers-bracket final at 11 this morning. That winner must defeat No. 2 seed Georgia Southern twice to claim the SoCon championship.

Reed said he won’t hesitate to go back to Loudermilk today, despite her extended work Friday, and she said she feels she’ll be up to it.

“We’ll be ready to go,” Loudermilk said. “We may be running on adrenaline, but we’ll be ready to go.”

Upchurch said the Lady Mocs feel confident about their chances to win the title and the NCAA berth that goes with it. They particularly want revenge against UNCG’s Spartans.

“They may have put us in the losers bracket, but we will send UNCG home,” she predicted. “We have the potential and the ability to win three, and I think we’re going to get it done.”

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