UM SOFTBALL FIELD | MOBILE, Ala. - The University of Mobile Softball team managed a pair of victories over Thomas University (Ga.) on Thursday afternoon, Mar. 21, improving to 16-7 overall on the season and 8-2 in SSAC play following the two wins.
Mobile opened Thursday's conference doubleheader against Thomas (11-15, 4-4) with a 6-1 win, collecting 10 hits as a team, while later recording a 2-1 comeback victory in game two. The two games against Thomas are the first SSAC games against the Night Hawks in history as Thomas joined the conference during the last offseason.
Rams Break Out the Brooms
In game one, the first two innings went scoreless, with both teams swinging early and often at the plate. The first three innings took just under 30 minutes to complete, with Mobile hitting the scoreboard first in the bottom of the third. After a Thomas error put Kristen Black on first base, Caitlin McRee later came up with a hard-hit single up the middle to score Black and give the Rams a 1-0 lead. However, the Night Hawks responded with a run of their own the very next inning and tied the ballgame, 1-1.
Mobile eventually took the lead back in the bottom of the fifth inning, scoring four runs in the process to put pressure on the Thomas offense. Megan McCartney, Caitlin McRee, and Lillie Lanham produced three-straight singles before freshman Miah Simmons worked a bases-loaded walk to give Mobile the lead back. Gracie Vanderford then put Mobile up 3-1 with an RBI groundout, while Jill Robinson smoked a double to left center field to score two. Up 5-1, the Rams added an insurance run in the sixth following a sacrifice fly from McRee. From there, the game went final with Mobile scoring the 6-1 victory.
In the pitcher's circle, Emily Butts shut down Thomas' bats after allowing the lone run in the third. Butts finished with a complete game effort on just 71 pitches in the 6-1 win, allowing only four hits and adding four strikeouts. The win is her seventh from the rubber this season. Meanwhile, Mobile's top three hitters in the starting lineup finished 7-for-10 at the plate across game one, with Lillie Lanham pacing Mobile with three hits alone. Megan McCartney and Caitlin McRee tallied two hits each from Mobile's top two spots in the lineup, while Jill Robinson picked up two hits from the six-hole.
In game two later on Thursday afternoon, the game quickly became a pitchers' dual between Mobile's Brinkley Goff and Thomas' Sierra Ussery. Both pitchers opened the game with three scoreless innings before a solo home run in the top of the fourth inning put the Night Hawks out front.
Mobile responded immediately after the homer, however, answering back in the bottom half of the fourth with two runs. The inning started with a hit-by-pitch to Lillie Lanham, followed by an infield single by Miah Simmons. With two aboard, Gracie Vanderford was then hit by a pitch on a 3-2 count. The Rams managed to load the bases with no outs in the fourth before Jill Robinson drove a deep single to left center field to push across the pair of runs. A Thomas pitching change following Robinson's clutch hit got the Night Hawks out of danger and limited the damage.
Brinkley Goff cruised from the rubber throughout the rest of the game as Mobile eventually earned the 2-1 win. Goff improves to 6-1 this season from the circle, striking out 10 Night Hawks in the process. She allowed just five hits. Offensively, Mobile joined Thomas in recording just five hits, with Miah Simmons leading the way with a 3-for-3 game at the dish. Simmons recorded her first collegiate double in the victory. For Jill Robinson, the second-year Ram collected a team-high four RBIs across the doubleheader sweep.
I-65 Series On Deck
The Rams are scheduled to return to action on Thursday, Mar. 28 with a conference doubleheader against Faulkner University (Ala.) in Montgomery, Ala. Next Thursday's DH is slated to start at 2:00 p.m. CT and is the first of two regular season meetings with the Eagles.
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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.
