Flames End Rams' Season With 14-5 Win
(Tourney Web Site)

CLEVELAND, Tenn—The 3rd-ranked Lee University Flames sent the 8th-ranked University of Mobile baseball team packing with a 14-5 victory in an elimination game on day three of the Region XIII Tournament.

The Flames stay alive to face LSU-Shreveport tonight, while the Rams end their season at 43-16 after winning the Regular Season Gulf Coast Athletic Conference Championship.

Lee pounded out 17 hits and scored in all but 2 innings to stay alive and roll to the victory.

Mobile scored first, turning a leadoff triple from Nelson Curry into a run in the top of the 1st, but the Flames answered with one in the 1st and four in the 2nd to take a quick 5-1 lead.

The Rams made a game of it by plating a pair of runs in the 4th on RBIs from Carlos Romero and David Cramblitt, but the Flames of Lee University 9-1 over the final 4.5 innings to ice the ball game.

Game Two: Rams Rally Again, But Fall In Extras

CLEVELAND, Tenn—The LSU-Shreveport Pilots plated two runs in the top of the 10th inning to drop 8th-ranked University of Mobile to an elimination game at the Region XIII Tournament with a 7-5 victory Wednesday evening.

Five days after bouncing the Rams from the GCAC Tournament in Mobile, AL, the Pilots put Mobile in a bad spot, forcing the Rams to face 3rd-ranked Lee University Thursday at noon. The Pilots will face the winner of that ball game at 6:00 pm.

When the game began, it appeared fans were going to witness offensive fireworks similar to that 18-11 decision in the GCAC Tournament, as LSU-S left the first inning leading 4-3.

But, Pilots’ starter Juan Leon and Mobile ace Jesse Luker settled down to dazzle on the mound and shut out the opposing offenses for most of the contest.

Leon went 8 innings, allowing only 1 earned run after the 1st, and limited the Rams to 6 hits. Blake Pinkston picked up the victory with 2 shutout innings out of the bullpen.

Luker on the otherhand, did something almost unheard of these days, he pitched into the 10th inning to give his team a chance with a taxed bullpen. Luker finished with 159 pitches thrown over 9.1 innings of work, while fanning 8 batters and allowing 7 earned runs, including the game-deciding runs in the 10th.

The Rams trailed 5-3 late, but Kevin Orso popped a RBI double in the 8th, and Daine Solomon followed two batters later with a RBI single to knot the contest and set the stage for extra innings.

In the 10th, the Pilots got runners at the corners with only 1 out, thanks to a hit-batsman and a single, before Luker was lifted for Scott Mitchell. Mitchell’s second pitch of the game resulted in a passed ball that chased home Bryan Stebbings to make it 6-5 in favor of the Pilots.

Then with 2 outs, another hit-batsman and a pair of walks forced home Josh Todd for the final score. The Rams went down 1-2-3 in the 10th inning against Pinkston.

Carlos Romero finished 2-for-4 with a pair of RBI for Mobile, while Kevin Orso went 1-for-5 with 2 RBI. Andrew Blubaugh went went 3-for-4 at the plate to lead the Pilots, while Andrew Brouillette added a 2-for-4 evening with 2 RBI.

Live Stats will be available for all games and online radio broadcasts will be available if Mobile plays Lee, Belhaven or LSU-Shreveport. Fans can visit that school's web site for the links.

Game 1: Rams Rally For Late Victory

CLEVELAND, Tenn-- The 8th-ranked University of Mobile baseball team began Region XIII Tournament action by coming from behind with a 4-run 9th inning to topple 5th-seeded Southern Polytechnic State University 15-14 Tuesday afternoon.

Both teams battered the opposing pitchers to the tune of 37 combined hits, but the Rams had the last laugh as Stephen Stork and Jared Baria combined to go 9-for-11 at the plate with 8 RBIs and 7 runs scored.

The Rams found themselves down 12-11 in the top of the 9th inning with 1 out, when the offense made one last statement. David Cramblitt and TJ Esfeller drew walks and Nelson Curry chopped an infield single to load the bags with 1 out. Stork then played the role of hero, stroking a 1-2 offering to deep center field for a bases-clearing triple and a 14-12 lead. Baria followed with a RBI single to cap the scoring.

Scott Mitchell picked up the win with 2.2 innings of 1-hit relief for the Rams. Stork finished 5-for-6 with 5 runs and 3 RBI, Baria finished 4-for-5 with 5 RBI, Carlos Romero finished 3-for-6 with 4 RBI and Cramblitt finished 2-for-3 at the plate.

With the 4-hit afternoon, Baria moved into 1st-place on the all-time hit list at the University of Mobile. Baria bested the old mark of 212 by Joe Espada when he laced a RBI triple in the 1st inning of the ball game. The second baseman is currently at 216 career hits.

The 2nd-seeded Rams (43-14) advance to face 4th-seeded LSU-Shrevport Wednesday at 6:00 pm central time.