The championship game will begin Saturday at 1:30 p.m. and require CofC to beat No. 1 Georgia Southern two times to be crowned champion.
Chattanooga, which boasts the best team batting average in the country, was outhit by the Cougars and muted through five innings but scored six runs in the sixth and looked to cruise to the win.
The Cougars had other ideas, however, and plated seven runs of their own in the final two innings to steal the win in walk-off fashion and extend their tournament life once again.
Eight of nine Cougars in the starting lineup reached base and CofC got RBIs out of five different players.
The game was a pitcher's duel through five innings but then both teams' offenses exploded in a pair of thrilling innings down the stretch. Kristy Giragosian (Charlotte, N.C.) was the game's first base runner with an infield single between third base and shortstop in the third inning. She represented one of just four base runners for either side in the first five innings.
CofC starter Stephanie Saylors (Easley, S.C.) was perfect through 4.0 innings until a fifth-inning leadoff single from Vivian Morimoto. Two batters later, Saylors initiated a 1-6-3 double play to erase the base runner and get through the fifth inning having faced the minimum number of hitters.
The Lady Mocs' bats came to life in the sixth, however, when they plated six runs on six hits to command an intimidating 6-0 lead. The inning started with seemingly innocent singles but then three base hits later, Kasey Tydingco roped a home run to right center to culminate UTC's six-run rally.
The Cougars were not deterred, however, and responded with a nearly game-tying rally of their own in the bottom half of the sixth inning. Giragosian started the rally with her second hit of the game and Carly Corthell (Reno, Nev.) doubled to put CofC's first two batters of the inning in scoring position.
After Kelsey Hodgson (Woodstock, Ga.) singled to drive in the Cougars' first run, Mackenzie Maples (Corona, Calif.) doubled to the wall in right center and Ashton Jarrett (Hanahan, S.C.) came around to score with an acrobatic slide at home plate to avoid the catcher's tag.
Amanda Lonergan (Pembroke Pines, Fla.) and Allison Pedigo (Scottsville, Ky.) both drove in runs with ground balls and a Chattanooga fielder error extended the inning to Hope Klicker (Walla Walla, Wash.) who capitalized with a double down the left field line to plate the Cougars' fifth run of the inning.
The rally ended there but made the comeback effort a much more manageable task in the seventh inning. Jarrett legged out a one-out infield single to bring the game-winning run to the plate for the Cougars in their final at-bats. After a strikeout put CofC down to its final out, the Lady Mocs committed throwing errors on back-to-back plays and CofC's runners capitalized by alertly maximizing the damage.
The win advanced the Cougars to their second consecutive SoCon Championship game. Last season, the Cougars lost in the opening round of the tournament but then rattled off four straight wins to reach the tournament. CofC now has a 7-1 record in elimination games in the past two season.
