The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga softball team wrapped up its 11th Southern Conference regular-season championship Saturday with four league games remaining, but the Lady Mocs stayed true to form by weathering two late-game uprisings from second-place Georgia Southern.

Brooke Loudermilk took a no-hitter into the seventh inning of the first game and held on for a three-hitter and 2-1 win, and the whole UTC pitching staff took part in a 5-4 second-game victory in which GSU had the tying run on third base with no outs in the seventh.

Loudermilk was in line for the save but started the final inning with an Amanda Glover homer that left fielder Lauren Flores almost pulled in above the fence. Then Hanna Ennis doubled to left center, and coach Frank Reed decided it was Kaity-bar-the-door time.

Kaity Holloway allowed a Marie Fogle infield hit that put runners on third and first before getting a dangerous trio to hit into three outs for her third save of the year.

Nina Iduate, who had broken up Loudermilk’s no-hitter in game one, bounced into a force-out at the plate, and powerful No. 3 batter Robyne Siliga hit a soft pop fly that shortstop Jessica Traxler snared at the ground behind third baseman Toni Hutchison. Amanda Hall popped out foul to Hutchison to set off the Lady Mocs’ celebration of their third SoCon title in a row.

They are 25-19 overall and 14-2 in the conference.

“It feels awesome. We always find a way to get it done,” said right fielder Kaiti Kelley, who was 3-for-4 and scored two runs in the clincher. “But it’s always nerve-racking. Every seventh inning we’re always on our toes.

“It took every single one of us to get it done, and we’re all proud.”

UTC faces Georgia Southern (22-21, 11-9) at Frost Stadium again today at 2 p.m. and visits College of Charleston (20-23, 11-8) this coming weekend before hosting the conference tournament. Appalachian State is done in the league at 14-9.

“I’m a worrier anyway, but I was looking just to win one game and then finish it up at Charleston if we had to,” Reed said. “I think Georgia Southern might be the best team in the conference. They have all-conference or preseason all-conference players at almost every position. I really didn’t like facing the first part of their lineup in that last inning, but Kaity came in and did just what we needed her to do.

“We’ve struggled this year with injuries, mono and just about everything else, but now we can sit back and focus on getting better for the tournament.”

Starting pitcher Michelle Fuzzard went 3-for-3 and broke 0-0 and 1-1 ties with RBI singles in game two, while Jenni Martin was 2-for-3 and followed Fuzzard, Tiffany Baker and Hutchison with RBIs in a four-run fifth that set up Kandice Irwin for the pitching win. Lyndsey Stiles started the inning with her second hit.

GSU got two back in the sixth. Fogle singled, took two bases on a wild pitch and scored on Hall’s one-out single. Loudermilk entered and sandwiched a flyout and a groundout around Megen Smith’s RBI single that left the tying runs on third and second.

UTC’s two first-game runs came on a sixth-inning throwing error after Fuzzard was hit by a pitch, Baker doubled and Hutchison walked.