May 7, 2005

Rams falls in GCAC Tournament championship game

JACKSON, Miss. -- Despite jumping out to a 6-0 lead for the second consecutive game, the University of Mobile Rams (37-23) allowed 20 consecutive runs to William Carey College as the Crusaders won 20-8 over Mobile in the championship game of the Gulf Coast Athletic Conference tournament Saturday afternoon in Jackson, Mississippi.

Needing to defeat William Carey twice on Saturday to win the Gulf Coast Athletic Conference tournament, the Rams quest fell just short. However, following a second place finish in both the regular season and the tournament, the Rams have locked up a bid to next week's Region XIII tournament held in Shreveport, La. set to begin on Tuesday.

As they had done against LSU-Shreveport on Friday, Mobile again scored six runs in the first two innings to take an early 6-0 lead. Unlike yesterday however, the Rams were unable to hang onto their lead as the demand of playing four games in four days depleted the Rams' pitching staff. Just as they had done the night before against Belhaven College, William Carey rallied from a six run deficit by scoring four runs in the bottom of the second and adding two more in the third to tie the game at 6-6. Then, Carey exploded for eight runs on three different UM pitchers in the bottom of the fifth inning to take command of the game at 14-6.

Carnell Parker led off the game by reaching first base on an error by the Crusader second baseman Jake Smith. After a steal of second base by Parker, Josh Banashak drew a walk to put runners at first and second base with nobody out. A wild pitch advanced the runners up 90 feet and Parker scored when UM shortstop Eddie Davila hit a RBI groundout putting Mobile ahead 1-0. Later with the bases loaded, Justin Rose layed down a sacrifice bunt that scored Banashak and gave Mobile an early 2-0 lead.

In the second inning, Lance Howard had an RBI single and Nate Thomas added a two RBI double as the Rams built an early 6-0 lead.

It wouldn't take long for Carey to respond though as they quickly cut into the Mobile lead by scoring four runs in the bottom of the second and two more in the third to tie the game at 6-6.

Leland Howard, who had made just eight prior starts on the season, went three plus innings surrendering six runs (three earned) on nine hits.

After replacing Howard with a runner on third base and nobody out in the bottom of the fourth inning, relief pitcher John Kalb (0-2) retired the next three Carey hitters to get out of the inning without allowing a run and keeping the game tied at 6-6.

However, Kalb ran into a bit of trouble in the fifth inning after surrendering a single and double to open the inning. Facing runners at second and third base with nobody out,

William Carey got an RBI single to centerfield from Ben Smith giving the Crusaders their first lead of the game at 7-6. Two outs later, Greg Alexander tripled in his second consecutive at-bat to right centerfield driving in two more runs and chasing Kalb from the game.

With two outs and a runner on third base, an error by Banashak kept the inning alive for Carey as they extended the lead to 10-6. Four more consecutive two out hits followed before the Rams were finally able to stop the bleeding now trailing 14-6.

Carey would go on to add six more in the eighth to take a 20-6 lead before Mobile would pick up two in the top of the ninth.

William Carey pounded out 23 hits in the game and limited Mobile to just six.

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