DECATUR, Ala. – The University of Mobile Softball team, who ranks No. 1 in the NAIA, defeated No. 6 William Carey (Miss.) in walk-off fashion Saturday afternoon, Apr. 30 to win the 2022 SSAC Softball Championship, presented by Buffalo Wild Wings. With the win, the top-ranked Rams earn the league's automatic bid to the NAIA Softball National Championship Opening Round in May.
Mobile Head Coach Alison Sellers-Cook and assistant coach Payton Adams has led this year's team to a 46-2 overall record, being the only team in the NAIA with two or fewer losses. The conference championship is the second during Sellers-Cook's five years at the helm of the program. The Rams' last conference title came in 2019.
SSAC Softball Championship Recap: No. 1 Mobile 1, No. 6 William Carey 0
Saturday's conference championship game in Decatur, Ala. was a pitchers dual between Mobile starter Brinkley Goff and William Carey's Haley Nations. Both Goff and Nations held their opponent scoreless until the final inning, where Mobile's Jaden Morace started the two-out rally with a single and stolen base. After a walk to Kaylee Pullin in the next at-bat, designated player Caitlin McRee knocked a single up the middle for the walk-off hit and earn Mobile the 2022 SSAC Softball title. McRee finished 2-for-4 in the win.
Additionally, Mobile left fielder Kristen Black saved a run in the middle innings with an impressive catch that sent her through the outfield fence to keep the Crusaders scoreless. Black's catch proved important as the Rams just needed one run for the win.
With the win, Brinkley Goff won her 20th game from the pitcher's circle, while not recording a loss on the season. Goff allowed just three hits while striking out four batters and issuing no walks. Both her and teammate Emily Butts combined to go 41-0 from the circle this season, with both recording sub-one ERAs in over 121 innings pitched each.
Meanwhile, the Rams handed William Carey's Haley Nations, who earned the this year's SSAC Softball Player of the Year and Pitcher of the Year honors, her fifth loss of the season from the circle, with three of those losses coming against Mobile alone. Jaden Morace, who narrowly missed out on this season's SSAC Softball Player of the Year Award, got the best of Nations on Saturday, finishing 3-for-4 at the plate and eventually scoring the game-winning run after working a two-out walk in the final inning.
Through 48 games this season, Morace has managed to record a batting line of .436, while recording 19 extra-base hits and 30 stolen bases. Morace's on-base percentage currently sits at a stellar .484 while the senior is slugging a whopping .612.
NAIA Softball National Championship Opening Round On Deck
The win earns the Rams a spot in the NAIA Softball Opening Round, with locations, teams, and times to be announced later by the NAIA. Mobile's 46-2 record continues to be the best in the nation as the Rams will likely enter the opening round as the No. 1 team in the country.
If Mobile can win the opening round tournament, the Rams will advance to the final site of the 2022 NAIA Softball National Championship in Columbus, Ga.
About the University of Mobile
The University of Mobile is a Christ-centered liberal arts and sciences institution with a vision of higher education for a higher purpose, founded to honor God by equipping students for their future professions through rigorous academic preparation and spiritual transformation. Core values are: Christ-Centered, Academically-Focused, Student-Devoted and Distinctively-Driven. The university offers on-campus and online bachelor's, master's and doctoral degrees in over 75 academic programs. Founded in 1961, the University of Mobile is affiliated with the Alabama Baptist State Convention and is located 10 miles north of Mobile, Alabama on a campus of over 880 acres.
For information about the University of Mobile, areas of study, admissions and more, visit umobile.edu, connect with UM on social media @univofmobile, or call Enrollment Services at 1.800.WIN.RAMS or 251.442.2222.
