Rams Drop Series To Pilots

SHREVEPORT, Louis-- The 6th-ranked University of Mobile baseball team split Saturday's double header with 21st-ranked LSU-Shreveport to close out the regular season Saturday.

The Rams took game one 4-3 and the Pilots won the rubber match 12-6 Saturday evening.

In the opener, Jesse Luker (10-2) won his 24th career game to set a new standard at the University of Mobile. The lefty allowed only two runs over 6 innings to pick up the victory in the 7-inning ball game.

The Rams used ABC baseball to open the scoring by converting a Nelson Curry leadoff walk into a run on a RBI groundout by Jared Baria. Mobile then plated two runs in the 5th and one in the 6th for the victory. Curry produced an RBI single and Kevin Orso came through with a sac fly in the 5th, while T.J. Esfeller singled home Daine Solomon in the 6th, for what proved to be the game-winning run as the Pilots rallied for 3 runs in the bottom of the 7th before Scott Mitchell shut the door for his 8th save of the year.

In the finale, the Rams scored first with a pair of runs in the 1st, but the Pilots scored early and often, opening up a 9-2 lead after 5 innings before cruising to victory. Kevin Orso hit a 2-run bomb in the 1st to give the Rams the temporary lead.

LSU-S pounded out 14 hits in the victory and Mobile's Jared Baria went 3-for-4 at the plate to set a new single-season hits record at the University of Mobile. Baria currently has 88 hits, besting Jeff White's 85 hits in 2003.

Orso finished 2-for-5 with a 2-run homer and Carlos Romero and Matthew Sparks both added 2 hits for the Rams. Mobile (40-12, 30-5) will next play at the GCAC Tournament at Spring Hill College April 30-May 4th.

Game 1: Mobile 9 - LSU-S 12

SHREVEPORT, Louis-- The 6th-ranked University of Mobile baseball team dropped a slugfest to begin the final regular season series of the season, falling 12-9 at LSU-Shreveport late Friday.

The two ball clubs combined for 24 hits in the 9-inning afair and the Pilots used some late-inning magic to pick up the victory.

Carlos Romero blasted his 10th homer of the season, a 3-run job, in the 7th inning to give Mobile a 9-8 lead. The 21st-ranked Pilots then battled back with a 4-spot in the bottom of the 8th inning off the normally impeccable Mobile bullpen for the winning margin.

The Rams (39-11, 29-4) and the Pilots (40-13, 25-9) will finish the series with a 1:00 double header Saturday afternoon.

Following the series, Mobile will return home and then co-host the GCAC Baseball Tournament at Spring Hill College April 30 - May 4th. The tournament will be a 6-team, double-elimination event. The winner will receive a bid to the Region XIII Tournament in Cleveland, TN.