ORANGE BEACH, Ala-- The University of Mobile softball team improved to 4-0 in pool play at the Gulf Coast Invitational by winning a pair of games Saturday. The Lady Rams knocked off Freed-Hardeman 3-1 and beat Campbellsville 3-2 in 8 innings.
In Saturday's pool play opener, the 18th-ranked Lady Rams wasted plenty of opportunities, leaving 10 runners on base, but did enough to beat Freed-Hardeman 3-1.
Leslie Pickette got the win for the Lady Rams, limiting FHU to 0 earned runs on six hits in a complete game effort. Pickette struck out 7 and walked 2. Summer Cole took the loss for Freed after allowing 3 runs on 4 hits and 10 walks.
Ally Scott provided all of the offense for Mobile, blasting a 2-run homerun over the centerfield fence in the 2nd inning, and then adding a RBI-groundout for insurance in the 3rd.
Freed put their lone tally on the board in the bottom of the 3rd thanks to a Mobile miscue. Scott finished 2-4 with 3 RBI for Mobile, while Kirstyn Joiner finished 2-4 at the plate.
Jessica Swanson gave Mobile the win over Campbellsville with a walk-off RBI-single to plate Dorlicia Martin in the bottom of the 8th.
Kamaron Strickland picked up the win in relief, throwing 2.1 innings of perfect ball while striking out 3. Victoria Buie started and threw 5.2 hitless innings before surrendering a pair of runs on two hits in the 6th.
Holli McLeod finished 2-3 at the plate for Mobile, while Campbellsville's Kacie Vincent was 1-3 with 1 RBI.
Both pitchers put up 0's through three innings before Mobile tallied a pair of runs in the bottom of the 4th thanks to a pair of hits and a pair of CU errors. McLeod and Desiree Truett opened the frame with singles and were moved into scoring position by Kirstyn Joiner's sac bunt. With two outs and the bases loaded, CU pitcher Allison Horton threw away Swanson's come-backer to allow a pair of runs to score.
It looked like it would be an easy win as Buie cruised, by CU tacked on a pair of two-out runs in the 6th thanks to a RBI-single from Kacie Vincent and a Mobile error.
Friday, March 12: Mobile Opens Pool Play With Two Wins
The Gulf Coast Invitational started off with Mobile picking up a pair of wins in pool play Friday, downing Ohio Dominican 4-1 and blanking University of Houston-Victoria 3-0.
The duo of Leslie Pickette and Victoria Buie combined to help Mobile pick up the win over ODU. Pickette started and got the "w", scattering 9 hits over 5 innings and allowing only 1 earned run with 4 strikeouts. Buie came on in the 6th inning and got out of a bases-loaded, no out jam, finishing with 2 scoreless innings of relief to grab the save.
Hannah Harrell finished 2-3 with 1 RBI at the plate, while Tess Ackerman finished 1-3 with 1 RBI. Jessica Swanson scored 2 runs for the Lady Rams.
Ohio Dominican opened the scoring with a RBI single from Kylee Crislip, who finished 3-4 in the game. But, Mobile took over the game with a 3-run 2nd inning.
In that 3-run 2nd, Mobile scored with only 1 hit thanks to two ODU errors. The Lady Rams' first three hitters reached via walk, hit-batsman and error. Erica Bracey crossed home first thanks to an error, and Korie Fontenot scored the eventual game-winning run off of another error. Harrell capped the inning with a RBI-single.
Against UH-Victoria, Kamaron Strickland picked up the win by throwing 7 2-hit, shutout innings. She walked a pair and struck out 8.
The Lady Rams wasted little time in giving Strickland some runs to work with, plating a pair in the bottom of the 1st and then finishing the scoring with a single tally in the 4th.
Holli McLeod doubled to lead off the 1st and after being sacrificed over by Desiree Truett, she scored on a base hit from Erica Bracey. With two outs, Jessica Swanson was hit to load the bases and Ally Scott was hit to force home Joiner for the 2-0 start. In the 4th, Truett singled home Harrell to cap the scoring.
Meanwhile, Strickland held UH-Victoria hitless over the final four innings.