UM SOFTBALL FIELD | MOBILE, Ala. - The University of Mobile Softball team hosted SSAC foe Faulkner University (Ala.) for a pair of non-conference games on Tuesday afternoon, Apr. 16, eventually winning both games and extending the current win streak to six games late in the season. Additionally, the sweep over the Eagles is Mobile's third-straight sweep over SSAC teams, with the Rams holding sole possession of first place in the current SSAC Softball standings.
Mobile improves to 28-11 overall on the year, with the SSAC record holding at 17-5 following Tuesday's action.
Pitching Shines in Doubleheader Sweep
Game One Recap: In game one to kick off the Tuesday doubleheader at the UM Softball Field, Emily Butts was awarded the start from the pitcher's circle for Mobile. Butts managed a scoreless top of the first against the Eagles, while coming up clutch at the plate in the bottom half of the inning. After a pair of defensive miscues on Faulkner's end that put Breanna Green and Caitlin McRee on base, Butts smashed a ball to left center field for a double, driving in both runners to open the scoring.
The Rams led 2-0 until the bottom half of the third inning where Emily Butts came through once more at the plate. On the first pitch she saw, Butts drove a hard-hit ball to deep left center field for her first home run of the season, giving the fifth-year senior three RBIs and two extra-base hits in just two at-bats across game one. Meanwhile, Butts was dealing from the circle, tossing three scoreless and hit-less innings against Faulkner.
Faulkner did manage to break up the no-hit bid by Butts in the fourth inning, however, with Gracie Pittman coming through with a solo home run to put the Eagles on the scoreboard. Butts then settled in once more from the rubber and maintained Mobile's 3-1 lead through the sixth inning. In the bottom half of the sixth, the Mobile offense came up clutch with two insurance runs following back-to-back RBI doubles by Jill Robinson and Kristen Black.
With Mobile leading 5-1 and needing just three outs for a victory in game one, Faulkner began a rally in the final inning and loaded the bases with no outs against Butts. Butts recorded one out in the inning, while allowing two runs to score, before Avery Harrell came in from out of the bullpen. Harrell then shut the Eagles' rally down, producing a strikeout and groundout to end the game, 5-3. Butts earned her 11th win of the season from the circle following the game-one performance, while Harrell earned her fourth save of the year.
Mobile out-hit Faulkner 7-5 across the afternoon's first game, led by Emily Butts with two hits and three RBIs. Caitlin McRee joined Butts with two hits, finishing 2-for-4 with a double and a run scored.
Game Two Recap: Later on Tuesday, the Rams looked for a sweep of Faulkner in the nightcap. Brinkley Goff was awarded the game two start from the rubber for Mobile and was lights out through the first three innings. Goff tallied six strikeouts through the first nine batters faced through three innings, allowing no hits.
The second game played on Tuesday quickly became a pitchers' duel between Goff and Faulkner's Chloe Davidson as neither team hit the scoreboard until the bottom half of the third inning. Mobile's Bethany Dean worked a bases-loaded walk in the third to open the scoring, but the Rams then left the bases loaded following. Faulkner immediately responded next half inning with a solo home run off the bat of Madalyn Becker, with the homer being Faulkner's first hit off Goff. The game remained tied 1-1 until the fifth.
Bethany Dean came up with her second RBI of the game in the bottom half of the fifth, driving in Breanna Green with a single to the right side. Gracie Vanderford then followed with an RBI groundout, giving Mobile a 3-1 lead late over Faulkner. The three runs were all Brinkley Goff needed in the end as the reigning SSAC Softball Pitcher of the Year held the Eagles scoreless throughout the remainder of the game. Mobile won game two 3-1, with Goff tossing a complete game.
The one run and hit recorded by Faulkner's Becker eventually became the only hit of the game for the Eagles as Goff pitched seven innings of one-hit ball, working 11 strikeouts. She improves to 9-3 from the circle this season.
At the plate, Breanna Green led Mobile with her best performance of the season thus far, finishing 3-for-4 with two runs scored. Caitlin McRee followed with two more hits, giving her four total across Tuesday's two games, and Lillie Lanham added two hits of her own. Bethany Dean was responsible for two of the three runs driven in during Mobile's two-run win.
Top Two Seeds Meet Next
With the regular season winding down next week, Mobile is scheduled to host conference rival William Carey (Miss.) for a doubleheader at the UM Softball Field on Tuesday evening, Apr. 23 for the next games on the schedule. Next week's doubleheader between Mobile and William Carey features the top two seeds in the current conference standings, and will likely decide the regular season champion of the 2024 season.
Tuesday's doubleheader is scheduled for 4:00 p.m. CT and will be broadcasted live on the University of Mobile Sports Network.
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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.
