Mobile Clinches Bid To Nationals

ORANGE BEACH, Ala—The 4th-ranked University of Mobile softball team clinched a bid to the 2008 NAIA National Tournament May 16-21 by downing 7th-ranked Shorter College 3-1 in the Region XIII Tournament Final Thursday afternoon.

The Lady Rams got dominant pitching from Ginger Reeser and a timely hit from Jennifer Gomez to pick up the victory.

Reeser (18-2), who picked up all three Mobile wins at the tournament, cruised through 7 innings, allowing only 1 run on 5 hits and striking out 5 Shorter batters.

Mobile started the scoring in the top of the 2nd inning when 3-straight hits from Anadys Suarez, Jennifer Gomez and Kelyn Mendoza resulted in a Mendoza RBI base hit and a 1-0 Mobile lead.

Things stayed that way through 5 innings, as Shorter’s Becca Thomas matched Reeser pitch for pitch, but the Lady Rams struck again in the top of the 6th, when Gomez launched a 2-run homer to center field for a 3-0 edge. The homer proved to be the game-winner as Shorter collected a run in the bottom half of the inning on a base hit from Jessica Sanders.

Game 2: Mobile Rallies For Late Victory

ORANGE BEACH, Ala-- The University of Mobile softball team rallied for a 4-3 victory over 7th-ranked Shorter College on day two of the Region XIII Softball Tournament.

The Lady Rams sent 7 batters to the plate and scored 3 runs in the bottom of the 6th inning for the come-from-behind victory. Ginger Reeser picked up the victory with 4.1 innings of 1-run relief. The 6th innings started when a pair of walks and a hit-batsman loaded the bases with 1 out. Jennifer Gomez worked the count for a walk to bring the Lady Rams within one, and Krystin Jolly followed two batters later by lacing a 2-out, 2-run single to left-center to give the Lady Rams the victory.

Shorter struck first with a pair of runs in the 3rd inning to force Reeser to enter the ball game, then Taylor Lee Phillips provided a RBI ground out in the bottom half of the frame to make the score 2-1. Becca Thomas, who started the game for Shorter on the mound, scored all the way from 2nd on an infield single in the 4th to make it 3-1 Shorter, before the late Mobile rallied sent Shorter to an elimination game Thursday at 10:00 am against William Carey.

Anadys Suarez finished 2-for-2 at the plate for Mobile and Jolly finished 2-for-3 with 2 big RBIs. Thomas, Monica West and Kandi Bruno all provided 2-hit performances for Shorter.

The Lady Rams (35-7) will await the winner of Shorter/William Carey tomorrow at 1:00 pm and have two chances to win if necessary.

Game 1: Lady Rams Roll In Opener

ORANGE BEACH, Ala—The 4th-ranked University of Mobile softball team defeated 24th-ranked Lee University on day one of the Region XIII Softball Tournament.

The Lady Rams got a dominant pitching performance from Ginger Reeser and pounded out 10 hits to pick up the victory.

Reeser went the distance, allowing only 3 hits and 1 run, while fanning 9 Lady Flame batters. She started the game, fanning 6 through 3 hitless innings to set the tone.

Meanwhile, the Mobile offense got on track when Jineth Pimentel and Anadys Suarez went back-to-back with solo homers to begin the 2nd inning. The Lady Rams then sent 6 batters to the plate in each of the 3rd and 5th innings to pull away.

Jennifer Gomez and Kelyn Mendoza went back-to-back with run-scoring hits in the 3rd, then they teamed up to do the damage again in the 5th, when Gomez produced a sac fly and Mendoza delivered a RBI single. Krystin Jolly got the start behind the plate and capped the scoring with a RBI double on an 0-2 pitch in the 7th.

Pimentel finished 2-for-3 with the homer and 3 runs scored, Mendoza finished 3-for-3 with 2 RBI, Gomez finished 1-for-3 with 2 RBI and Anadys Suarez finished 1-for-3 with 2 runs scored.

Mobile (34-7) moves on to play 7th-ranked Shorter College Wednesday at 2:00 pm. All games are being played at the Orange Beach Sportsplex. Lee University falls to the loser’s bracket to face Belhaven at 11:00 am Wednesday.