Saturday, May 10, 2003

Chattanooga, Tenn. (May 10, 2003) -- In dramatic fashion, East Tennessee State scored a run in the bottom of the seventh inning to defeat Chttanooga, 1-0, in the championship game of the 2003 Southern Conference tournament. As Chattanooga was previously undefeated in the tournament, the two teams must play a second and deciding game to determine the winner of the tournament. The Mocs stranded eight runners, hit into two double plays and commited three errors. The determining factor was errors committed in the final half inning. With bases loaded, Chattanooga's Awbrey Winckler coaxed a ground ball out of East Tennessee State's Dani Spetar (Knoxville, Tenn.), but the throw to home for a force was dropped and the Bucs scored the game's only run. Tiffany McVay (Soddy-Daisy, Tenn.) (13-9) picked up the victory for the Bucs, tossing seven innings, allowing seven hits and striking out three. Winckler (21-15) suffered the loss for the Mocs on the mound pitching six innings allowing only one run, which was unearned. She struck out three and walked four. The final and deciding game of the tournament began at 2:15 on Saturday at Frost Stadium. The winner of the game will earn the Southern Conference's automatic bid to the 2003 NCAA Softball Tournament.