UM SOFTBALL FIELD, MOBILE, Ala. - For the first time during the 2023 season, the University of Mobile Softball team saw action at home on Wednesday evening, Mar. 1, hosting crosstown rival Spring Hill College in a non-divisional matchup in front of a packed crowd at the UM Softball facility. Despite entering with a 9-1 overall record and ranked No. 2 in the NAIA, Mobile fell to the Badgers in extra innings on Wednesday night, dropping just the second game of the season, 5-4.
Although Spring Hill is a NCAA Division II member, the Badgers entered Wednesday struggling to start the 2023 season with a 2-9 record. However, Spring Hill relied on early runs to give the Badgers confidence and momentum, while never allowing the Rams to grab a lead in the eight-inning contest.
Game Recap
In the top of the first inning on Wednesday, Spring Hill managed a two-out RBI double to give the Badgers an early 1-0 lead. After holding Mobile scoreless through the first two innings, Spring Hill added another run in the top of the third to go up, 2-0. Through the first three innings, Spring Hill managed two runs off seven hits, which eventually chased Mobile starting pitcher Emily Butts from the game.
In the top of the fourth, Brinkley Goff relieved Butts from the pitcher's circle and immediately gave up a leadoff double. However, Goff then followed the leadoff double with three-straight strikeouts to end the inning. On the final out, the batter was called out of the box with two strikes which goes down as a strikeout for Goff. The next inning, Goff picked up right where she left off an inning before and notched to more punch outs in the top of the fifth. Going into the bottom half of the fifth, the Badgers still led Mobile, 2-0.
In the bottom of the fifth inning, Mobile's offense finally came alive after senior Caitlin McRee launched a game-tying home run down the left field line with two outs. McRee's no-doubt bomb is her first of the season and tied the game at two runs a piece. One batter later, Ashlyn Stewart worked a walk which ended Spring Hill starting pitcher Emma Curry's day after 4 2/3 innings. The game remained tied 2-2 going into the sixth inning.
In the top of the sixth, Spring Hill immediately answered Mobile's game-tying home run a half inning before, scoring a go-ahead run after three-straight singles started the inning. Fast forward to the seventh and final inning with Spring Hill leading the Rams 3-2, Mobile managed to tie the game in the bottom of the seventh following an RBI groundout by Katie Head. Caitlin McRee came in to score on Head's groundout after beginning the inning with a walk followed by an Ashlyn Stewart single and a sacrifice bunt by Lillie Lanham. Mobile and Spring Hill then went to extra innings with the game tied, 3-3.
With the international tiebreaker rule in play, Spring Hill started off the top of the eighth with a runner on second base, eventually seeing that runner come in to score after an infield single and sacrifice fly. Later in the inning, the Badgers added an important insurance run to lead the Rams, 5-3. In the bottom of the eighth, Mobile managed to cut the deficit to just one run, but left the tying run at second to end the game, giving Spring Hill the 5-4 victory.
Inside the Box Score
In the 5-4 loss, Mobile tallied seven hits and saw 12 Rams left on base through the eight innings played. Mobile pitchers Emily Butts and Brinkley Goff combined to give up 13 Spring Hill hits, allowing three earned runs out of the Badgers' five that scored, and recorded seven strikeouts. Goff was charged with the loss, racking up six strikeouts and three walks in the process.
Offensively, Caitlin McRee finished 1-for-4 at the plate with a walk and her game-tying home run in the bottom of the fifth. Additionally, she scored two runs. Freshman Erin Degruise was the only Ram in the lineup to tally multiple hits in the defeat, recording an RBI single in the bottom of the eighth to cut Spring Hill's lead to just one run. Degruise finished 2-for-5 on Wednesday. Finally, Katie Head was very patient at the dish, working three walks in three-straight plate appearances. She notched one RBI after her groundout tied the game in the seventh.
The loss to Spring Hill on Wednesday is Mobile's first loss to their crosstown rival since Feb. 20, 2021.
Annual GCI Tournament
UM Softball returns to work this weekend as the Rams host the annual Gulf Coast Invitational in Gulf Shores, Ala. from Mar. 3-5. More than 25 teams will travel to Gulf Shores, Ala. for the annual tournament this year, with Mobile scheduled to play four total games on the weekend. Mobile's GCI tournament schedule can be found below.
- Friday, Mar. 3 - Mobile v. Saint Xavier University @ 1:30 p.m. CT
- Friday, Mar. 3 - Mobile v. Williams Baptist College @ 3:15 p.m. CT
- Saturday, Mar. 4 - Mobile v. Freed-Hardeman University @ 1:30 p.m. CT
- Saturday, Mar. 4 - Mobile v. Texas A&M - Texarkana @ 3:15 p.m. CT
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.
