COLUMBUS, Ga. - The Southern States Athletic Conference (SSAC) hosted the 2022 SSAC Baseball Championship Tournament in Columbus, Ga. from May 4-8, a conference tournament that saw nine teams compete for the conference crown and earn a spot to the 2022 NAIA Baseball World Series. The tournament was a double-elimination tournament, meaning that each team must lose twice to be eliminated.
The University of Mobile Baseball team earned the sixth seed of the tournament and were scheduled to face the third-seeded William Carey Crusaders on the afternoon on May 4. In the opening game of the conference tourney, Mobile's offense exploded with 12 runs across the first four innings, four coming in the first inning alone and seven in the fourth. Going into the bottom of the fourth, Mobile controlled a 12-1 lead over William Carey, bidding for an upset victory.
However, William Carey began cutting into the deficit with one run in the fourth and five runs one inning later in the fifth. Mobile pitching collapsed late in the game as the Rams allowed the Crusaders to continue their momentum with a seven-run seventh inning, taking the lead 14-12 over Mobile. The Rams got one run back in the eighth, but William Carey scored two insurance runs in the bottom of the eighth to seal the victory. Mobile's upset bid fell short as the Rams allowed 16 runs, 14 un-answered, in four innings to William Carey to lose, 16-14. Following the loss to the Crusaders, Mobile battled the Loyola University Wolf Pack, last year's conference champions, in an elimination game the following morning.
In the May 5 elimination bout, Loyola's bats came out hot, scoring nine runs across the first four innings. The Wolf Pack later added on five more runs in the top of the seventh. Mobile did not manage to score their first run of the game until the seventh inning, making the score, 14-1. In the bottom of the ninth, the Rams started a late rally and pushed across four runs, but fell short and were eliminated from the 2022 SSAC Baseball Championship Tournament with a 14-5 loss to Loyola.
Mobile's Tucker Musgrove highlighted the tournament for Mobile, finishing with a 4-for-9 batting line, while tallying six RBIs across both games. Musgrove recorded three RBIs each in both losses.
The two losses ended Mobile's 2022 campaign with a 25-20 overall record, five games above .500. The Rams finished sixth in the conference standings with an 11-13 conference record.
Mobile Head Coach Jon Seymour and the returning Rams will turn the page and turn the attention towards the 2023 season, set to begin in late January of 2023.
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.
