MOBILE, Ala-- An 8-run 1st inning was too much to overcome for the University of Mobile baseball team Saturday, as the 18th-ranked LSU-Shreveport Pilots took the rubber match 13-7.
Nine batters came to the plate, seven runs had scored and starting pitcher Jarrin Brister had been chased from the game before the Pilot bats finally made an out in the 1st. In the frame, LSUS drew four walks, pounded out six hits and tallied eight runs. Andrew Brouillette and Curtis Beaudoin had 2-run doubles in the frame, while Shawn Moy added a 2-run single for the No. 18 Pilots.
Then, after the Rams went down 1-2-3 in the bottom of the 1st, the Pilots turned three walks, two wild pitches and a passed ball into two more runs to take a commanding 10-0 lead after just 1.5 innings of baseball.
After two quick outs in the bottom half of the 2nd, Mobile finally got the bats going for a little bit. Dustin Lee started the 2-out rally with a double to right-center, and after Brad Sheffield was hit by a pitch, Hunter Norris went the other way with a 2-run double. Derek Bourgeois followed that with a RBI-single to cut the deficit to 10-3.
Both pitchers settled down over the next five innings after the early fireworks. Alan Butts threw 6 innings of 3-run, 3-hit relief for the Rams, while Jared Mata picked up the win for LSUS, holding Mobile to 3 runs on eight hits in 6 innings of work. He struck out five and walked none. LSUS added one in the 6th and two in the 8th, while Mobile added one run in the 7th and three unearned tallies in the bottom of the 9th.
The Pilots only out-hit Mobile 13-12, but drew 11 walks, while surrendering only 3 walks to the Ram hitters. Brandon Bravata finished 3-6 for LSUS, Curtis Beaudoin went 2-3 with 3 RBI and David Morgan finished 2-5 with 3 RBI. For Mobile, Brad Sheffield went 3-4 with 2 RBI and Hunter Norris finished 2-4 with 2 RBI.
Ten different LSUS players scored and seven different hitters drove in a run for the Pilots.
Pilots And Rams Split Friday Doubleheader
MOBILE, Ala-- Travis Williamson's walk-off home run capped a come-from-behind 7-6 win over 18th-ranked LSU-Shreveport in 7 innings Friday in game one of the doubleheader.
Down 6-4 with only two outs to go, the Rams' bats went to work. Dustin Lee delivered a pinch-hit single to left and Cody Barber laced a single up the middle to chase reliever Richard Pharr. Corey Theriot came in to face Williamson, and the senior catcher from Mary G. Montgomery cranked the third pitch he saw over the left field fence for the walk-off win.
John Ladnier picked up the win with 1.1 innings of one-hit, shutout relief. The junior fanned two and walked none. Michael Clay got the start for Mobile and got roughed up for 4 runs on three hits in the 1st inning. But, the lefty settled down to give Mobile a chance, by limiting the Pilots to 1 earned run on four hits, over the next 4.2 innings of work.
Williamson finished 3-4 with the 3-run home run for Mobile, while Justin Beck went 2-4 and Derek Bourgeois finished 2-3 with a 2-run double. Andrew Brouillette and Kevin Smith collected two hits apiece for the Pilots.
In the 1st inning, the Pilots got their 4 runs after Clay walked the first two men he faced to set up the Pilot outburst. Curtis Beaudoin singled home two and then Smith provided a 2-out, 2-run double to take the 4-0 lead.
After going hitless for the first two frames, the Rams scratched across a run in the 3rd when Beck singled and a Pilots' error allowed Bourgeois to go all the way home. LSUS put up an unearned tally in the 4th and the Rams answered with a 3-spot in the bottom of the 4th. Barber and Williamson used small ball to start the inning, reaching via a walk and bunt hit, and then an LSUS error plated one and put runners in scoring position. With one out, Bourgeois ripped a 2-run double down the left field line to make it 5-4.
Shawn Moy chased Clay with a 2-out, solo homer in the 6th to put the Pilots up 6-4, but Ladnier came and held their bats at bay to allow for the comeback.
Game 2: Pilots 12 - Mobile 1
Friday's finale was not as kind to Mobile, as the 18th-ranked Pilots ran past the Rams 12-1 in a run-ruled shortened 7-inning game. The LSUS offense tallied 12 runs on 15 hits and John James picked up the win with 7 innings of 2-hit, 1-run ball. He fanned nine and went 6 innings before finally allowing a hit.
Chris Peacock was matching James for the Rams, allowing only 2 runs through 5, but the Pilots exploded for 7 runs on eight hits in the 6th inning that forced the Rams to use three pitchers. Six of the seven runs scored with two outs as seven straight Pilots reached after the second out was recorded.
Andrew Brouillette finished 4-5 with 3 RBI and Shawn Moy finished 3-3 with a homer, a triple, 4 runs and 3 RBI to lead the Pilots' attack. Cody Barber and Brad Sheffield collected Mobile's lone hits.
The Rams (7-9, 2-5) host the Pilots for the final game of the three-game series Saturday at 1 pm.