Lady Rams’ Softball Finishes Trip 4-2

Lady Rams Take Slugfest in Finale

After falling 1-0 in the opener, the Lady Rams went back to mashing the ball in the finale Tuesday and beat 2nd-ranked Cal Baptist 8-7 on the strength of the long ball and 2-out run production.

The Lancers struck for 2 in the bottom of the first with a double and a sac fly, but the Lady Rams answered with 5 runs over the next 2 frames to jump ahead. Jineth Pimentel blasted a 2-run homer in the 2nd, and then the Lady Rams produced some 2-out magic in the 3rd, getting a RBI-double from Cristina Rodriguez and a 2-run bomb from Anadys Suarez to go up 5-2.

The 2-out magic continued two innings later when Jennifer Gomez rocketed a 2-out, 2-run double into the left-center gap to plate Pimentel and Kelyn Mendoza. Yaicey Sojo added the eventual winning run with a solo shot in the 6th.

That 8th run proved important, as the 2nd-ranked Lancers kept fighting with a big 6th inning. A 3-run homer from Allison Dennis highlighted the 4-run 6th that chased through 2 Mobile pitchers before Nikki Madden came in to get a big strikeout and leave the bases juiced.

Sojo finished 3-for-4 with a homer, Pimentel finished 2-for-3 with a 2-run homer, Jennifer Gomez finished 2-for-3 with a pair of RBIs, Kelyn Mendoza finished 3-for-4, and Suarez finished 1-for-4 with a 2-run homer.

Mobile improves to 8-2 on the season and next plays March 11th at home against LSU-Alexandria. The double header starts at 2:00. Cal Baptist falls to 18-2.

Game 5:
Old-Fashioned Pitcher's Duel

In the opener between 13th-ranked University of Mobile and 2nd-ranked California Baptist, fans witnessed an old fashioned pitcher’s duel, as the Lady Rams fell 1-0.

After Mobile’s Karla Rodriguez and Cal Baptist’s Amy Thomas put zeroes on the board through the first 5 innings of play, the Lady Rams’ had one of their few chances to do some damage in the 6th when Jessica McIntyre produced a 1-out double, but pinch runner Chelsea Filburn was stranded at 3rd base as Thomas induced a pair of groundouts.

The Lancers then got their chance in the bottom half of the 6th and took advantage of it. Nicole Shoemaker drew a leadoff walk, and after moving to 3rd base after a ground out and wild pitch, teammate Kelly Maconachy delivered a RBI single up the middle for the 1-0 outcome.

Thomas went the distance, fanning 3 and limiting Mobile to 4 hits to pick up the win for the Lancers, while Rodriguez was charged with the loss despite going 6 innings, fanning a pair and limiting Cal Baptist to 5 hits.

Game 4:
Lady Rams Sweep #19 Biola

La Mirada, Ca—The University of Mobile softball team polished off a sweep of #19 Biola by taking game 2 of the double header 5-2 Monday evening.

Ginger Reeser (3-1) scattered 6 hits and held the Lady Eagles to a pair of runs in 6 innings of work.

The offense for Mobile came in the 3rd and 6th innings. The Lady Rams batted around in the 3-run 3rd inning and got back-to-back-to-back singles from Cristina Rodriguez, Karla Rodriguez and Anadys Suarez to do the damage. Cristina drove in a pair and Suarez capped the scoring with a RBI hit.

Then, in the 6th inning Yaicey Sojo continued her torrid 2008 campaign by lacing a 0-2 offering over the centerfield fence for a 2-run homer and a 5-0 lead. The Lady Eagles fought back with a 2-out 2-run triple from Krista Johnson in the bottom half of the frame, but the Lady Rams held on.

Sojo finished 1-for-2 with 2 runs and 2 RBIs, Abby Campbell went 1-for-3 with a pair of runs, and Cristina Rodriguez added 2 RBIs. Karla Rodriguez, who twirled a no-hitter Saturday, came in to pitch the 7th and pick up the save by fanning a pair of batters.

Game 3:
Madden Pitches Lady Rams To Win

La Mirada, Ca—The University of Mobile softball team took game one of Monday’s doubleheader with #19 Biola 6-1.

The 13th-ranked Lady Rams got a standout pitching performance from Nikki Madden and used a 5-run 5th inning to take control of the game.

Madden (2-0) worked 4 no-hit innings before going on to finish off a 3-hit performance. The senior walked one, struck out one and allowed only one earned run.

Heading into the 5th, the Lady Rams were clinging to a 1-0 lead on a solo homer from Yaicey Sojo, then Mobile took control by batting around in the eventful 5th. Jessica McIntyre started the rally with a 1-out RBI double and then four batters later, Kelyn capped the scoring with a 2-run triple down the right field line.

Game 2:
Rodriguez No-Hits Biola

SAN DIEGO, Calif--  The University of Mobile softball team bounced back after their first loss of the season in fine fashion Saturday afternoon, using a no-hitter from freshman Karla Rodriguez to take down #19 Biola 8-0.

Rodriguez (2-0) pitched 6 innings of no-hit ball, fanned 4 and only allowed two balls out of the infield all day long. The freshman was prefect through the first four, before back-to-back walks broke that up, but Rodriguez settled down and prevented any damage from being done by inducing a pop out and getting a strikeout to end the frame.

On the offensive side, the Lady Rams capitalized on 3 miscues by Biola in the first inning to take a 4-0 lead and then added a pair of long balls late to put the 8-run rule into effect in the 6th.

The Lady Rams sent 8 batters to the plate in the opportunistic first and a Jineth Pimentel RBI triple highlighted the scoring. After Biola starter Eric Moyer settled down and shut out the Mobile offense through the next three innings of play, the Lady Ram bats came to life again.

Jessica McIntyre went opposite field with a 3-run bomb in the 5th and then 2007 NAIA All-American Yaicey Sojo ended the ball game with a solo shot to centerfield.

Sojo went 3-for-3 at the top of the Lady Rams’ order with 3 runs scored, McIntyre went 1-for-3 with 4 RBI and 2 runs scored, while Jineth Pimentel rounded out the top performers with a 2-for-2 afternoon.

Mobile (5-1) has picked up all 5 wins against Top-25 competition on the season and will play 4 more top teams when they play a double header at Biola Monday, and a double header at #2 Cal-Baptist Tuesday.

Game 1:
Offense Sputters and Lady Rams Drop Game

SAN DIEGO, Calif—The 13th-ranked University of Mobile softball team suffered its first loss of the season Saturday at #3 Point Loma Nazarene University. Mobile fell 4-1.

Melissa Gomez dominated on the mound for Point Loma, hurling 4 perfect innings before the Lady Rams were able to scratch across a run on a Kelyn Mendoza RBI single.

Meanwhile, Rams’ lefty Ginger Reeser was matching Gomez pitch for pitch until the Lady Sea Lions struck for a pair of runs in the 4th and 5th frames.

Point Loma used back-to-back leadoff singles and a double steal to strike in the 4th, and then sent 8 batters to the plate in the 5th, capped by a bases-loaded walk.

Gomez picked up the win by throwing 7 innings of 3-hit ball, while Reeser was tagged with the loss by allowing 3 earned runs in 4.2 innings of work. Yaicey Sojo, Mendoza and Jineth Pimentel each collected a hit for Mobile.

California Trip Preview:

The Lady Rams will battle #2 Cal-Baptist, #3 Point Loma and #19 Biola over the next four days in California..

Yaicey Sojo paces the Lady Rams at the plate with an .818 batting average, 3 homers, 5 RBI and 4 stolen bases. Meanwhile, the pitching trio of Nikki Madden, Ginger Reeser and Karla Rodriguez have combined to throw 26 innings and compile a 0.81team ERA.

As a team, Mobile ranks 1st in the NAIA in homers per game and ranks 4th in earned runs allowed per game.

Point Loma Nazarene is 3-0 on the young season and uses speed and pitching to beat opponents. They rank 1st in the nation with 6 stolen bases per game and their pitchers hold opponents to a .118 batting average.

Biola is 6-4 on the season and is led by Krista Johnson’s .448 batting average and 8 RBIs. Second-ranked Cal Baptist has dominated their opponents thus far, streaking to a 15-1 record and currently riding a 14-game win streak. The Lancers have allowed more than 2 runs only twice in the 16 games on the season.

The Cal Baptist pitchers hold opponents to a .200 batting average and allow only 1.5 runs per contest. Amy Thomas leads the way and has already racked up 8 victories and 2 saves to lead the staff. She has fanned 53 and posted a 0.87 ERA.

Schedule: March 1st- Mobile v. Point Loma @ 9:00 am; Mobile v. Biola @ 11:00 am… March 3rd – Mobile v. Biola (DH) @ 1:30 pm…. March 4th – Mobile v. Cal Baptist (DH) @ 1:00 pm.