MISSY MAGNIFICENT SHOWS PITCHER OF THE YEAR PROWESS IN
RAMS WIN
DECATUR, Ala. – On the wings of 2003
NAIA Pitcher of the Year Missy Passley’s dominating performance,
the University of Mobile kept their dreams of winning their
first ever national championship alive by eliminating
third-seeded Point Loma Nazarene University (Calif.) in Day Four
of the 23rd Annual NAIA Softball National
Championships held at the Wilson Morgan Softball Complex in
Decatur, Alabama.
Giving up only three hits, three walks and
one earned run, while fanning seven batters, Missy Passley
showed the crowd gathered at the Wilson Morgan Softball Complex
why she was an NAIA 1st Team All-American pick.
It also helped that the Rams converted four
of their six hits for runs. Perhaps their best performance of
the tournament, Mobile’s win tonight keeps them alive in the
tournament and puts them on course to play the University of
Mary (N.D.) tomorrow at 10 a.m.
Winter Guthrie got things going for Mobile
in the bottom of the third inning. Her triple put immediate
pressure on Point Loma pitcher and NAIA 2nd Team
All-American, Miranda van der Voort, who gave up four hits, two
walks and two earned runs in four innings of work.
With Mobile able to load the bases, a Van
Der Voort wild pitch allowed Guthrie to score and moved runners
to second and third with two outs. A Meredith Tanner single
scored Sylvia Bedgood and Maria Soto, giving the Rams a quick
3-0 lead.
Although Point Loma would pick up a run in
the top of the fourth inning and another in the top of the
fifth, it was not enough as the Rams turned up their defense and
staved off late runs by the Lady Crusaders.
Point Loma University, whose lone earned
run was driven in by Jessica Casillas (1-for-3), ends their
season with a 48-10 record and with several players garnering
individual All-American honors including Cheryl Bolding (1),
Leslie Ludlow (1), Miranda van der Voort (2), and Amy Nanson
(2).
The Rams, who were led by Meredith Tanner
(2-for-3 with two RBIs) and Winter Guthrie (2-for-3 with one run
scored), now face a University of Mary (38-13) team who has
surprised many at the tournament with their offensive arsenal
that tonight produced 16 runs against a formidable Oklahoma
Christian University team.
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