HATTIESBURG, Miss. - The University of Mobile Softball program won the 2023 SSAC Softball Regular Season Championship on Wednesday evening, Apr. 26, earning the top seed in the upcoming SSAC Softball Championship Tournament in the process. With just two games remaining on the regular season schedule entering Wednesday, Mobile needed to win out, while seeing Middle Georgia State lose a game to earn the regular season title. The cards were on Mobile's side in the end as the Rams managed to sweep conference rival William Carey on the road, and saw help from Brewton-Parker College who defeated Middle Georgia State on Wednesday afternoon.
Mobile ends the 2023 regular season with a conference-best 23-5 SSAC record, with an overall record sitting at 36-11. The Rams finished one game ahead of Middle Georgia State in the standings, and inherits a three-game lead over the third-seeded Crusaders of William Carey after two wins on Wednesday. The regular season championship is Mobile's second in a row.
Doubleheader Recap - Mobile Sweeps William Carey
The Rams did their part on a beautiful day in Hattiesburg, Miss., taking two games from the Crusaders to finish the regular season with a 3-1 record over the conference rival. In game one, Mobile managed a shutout over William Carey with a 3-0 victory. True freshman Avery Harrell pitched her second-straight complete game shutout across game one, allowing just three hits and striking out four. Harrell's performance on Wednesday follows a complete game two-hit shutout over Faulkner one day prior. In just four starts and 50 2/3 innings of work in her first collegiate season, Harrell has recorded a 0.97 ERA and has struck out 51 total batters. She averages over seven strikeouts per seven innings.
The first run of game one in Wednesday's doubleheader did not cross home plate until the top of the fifth. Lillie Lanham, another freshman for Mobile, singled up the middle to drive in Tempest Hebert to put Mobile on top by one run. Later in the top of the seventh, Mobile added insurance runs to deflate the hopes of a comeback in the William Carey dugout. Katie Head reached on a RBI fielder's choice to start the scoring in the seventh, and was followed by an RBI groundout by Kristen Black.
Overall, Tempest Hebert led Mobile offensively with two hits, while the Rams outhit William Carey as a team, 5-3. Avery Harrell improved to 4-1 in the pitcher's circle as William Carey's Haley Nations suffered the defeat.
In game two, Mobile's pitching staff once again kept the William Carey bats quiet as the Crusaders only tallied one run. An RBI single in the bottom of the third game William Carey an early lead, but Mobile used the final three innings to mount a comeback. In the top of the fifth, the Rams tied the game at one a piece following an RBI single down the left field line by Carleigh Bowden. One inning later, Mobile took the lead following an RBI single to center by Madilyn Sheffield. For insurance late, Mobile added their third run of the game in the final inning following an RBI groundout by Bowden. From there, the Rams took game two 3-1 and claimed the regular season title.
Carleigh Bowden finished 2-for-4 at the plate in the second game, leading the Rams with two runs driven in. Meanwhile, Madilyn Sheffield notched three hits in three at-bats as Mobile totaled nine hits in the game. In the circle, Brinkley Goff pitched her 14th complete game of the season, allowing just one unearned run off six hits. Goff struck out two as the senior improves to 15-5 from the rubber this season.
On to the SSAC Softball Championship Tournament
With the regular season concluded, the Mobile Rams are set defend last year's conference crown beginning on Thursday, May 4 at the Wilson Morgan Softball Complex in Decatur, Ala. Mobile defeated William Carey in walk-off fashion last season to win the SSAC Softball Championship, and will look to win their second-straight tournament title in one week.
Opponents and lower seeds will be finalized by the SSAC following this weekend, but Mobile is scheduled to face the winner of the No. 4 v. No. 5 seeded game at 4:00 p.m. CT on May 4 to open the tournament. For more information about the 2023 SSAC Softball Championship in Decatur, click HERE.
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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.
