Mobile Goes 1-1 on Friday Afternoon; Jill Robinson Hits Go-Ahead Grand Slam in Mobile’s Win Over No. 8 Central Methodist
VSN (admin) Published Saturday, February 11, 2023 – 11:30 am
LECOMPTE, La. – After a doubleheader sweep over LSU-Alexandria to open the 2023 season, the University of Mobile softball team, which begins the season ranked No. 2 in the NAIA, returned to action a day later on Feb. 10 with two more non-conference games, facing the University of Houston-Victoria and No. 8 Central Methodist University in the LSU-A Softball Tournament. Mobile opened the day with a 3-0 upset loss to Houston-Victoria, but followed with a 5-3 victory in an NAIA Softball Top 10 matchup against Central Methodist.
After opening weekend for the 2023 campaign, the Rams are 3-1 to start the year.
Game One Recap: Houston-Victoria 3, (2) Mobile 0
The Jaguars of Houston-Victoria shocked many NAIA softball fans on Friday morning, knocking out the second-ranked Rams of Mobile. UHV earned a shutout win over Mobile on Friday, holding the Rams to just four hits in the game. Meanwhile, the Jaguars set the tone of the game with two early runs in the first inning, later adding their third run in the fourth. UHV had six hits in the upset performance.
Caitlin McRee and Tempest Hebert led Mobile with two hits apiece in the loss, while Brinkley Goff got the start in the pitcher’s circle. Goff finished four innings of work, allowing two earned runs and giving up five hits. She added three strikeouts and one walk. Avery Harrell later relieved Goff in the circle over the final two innings, allowing just one hit and tallying two hits and two walks from out of the bullpen.
Game Two Summary: (2) Mobile 5, (8) Central Methodist 3
After the first loss of the season, Mobile looked to bounce back in the second game of the afternoon, with No. 8 Central Methodist. The Rams got on the scoreboard quickly in the top of the first inning after an RBI double by Caitlin McRee. McRee’s double scored leadoff hitter Kayla Moran after Moran worked a walk to start the game. A half inning later, however, the Eagles tied things up with a run of their own in the bottom half of the first.
Tied 1-1, Central Methodist claimed their first lead of the game with a two-run home run in the fourth inning. Mobile head coach Alison Sellers-Cook was now down 3-1 and time was running out for the Rams. Alison Sellers-Cook took to the bench in the top of the sixth inning with the bases loaded, sending freshman Jill Robinson to the plate as a pinch hitter. On the first pitch she saw, Robinson blasted a leadoff grand slam in the top of the sixth, giving Mobile a 5-3 lead late. From there, Mobile starting pitcher Emily Butts closed out the game with a complete game performance.
The Rams outshot the Eagles 11-5, with Caitlin McRee going 3-for-3 in the second game of the afternoon. McRee finished the day with a 5-for-6 line at the plate over two games. Catcher Madilyn Sheffield had two hits in the win over Central Methodist, while Jill Robinson’s pinch-hit grand slam was the key hit of the game. Emily Butts allowed the five CMU hits and struck out one batter. She improved to 2-0 from the circle on the young season.
Summary of the opening week
After four non-conference games on the road to start the year, UM Softball will take a few weeks off before returning to action by participating in the Southeastern Softball Tournament in Orlando, Florida. Mobile will play six total games against three SUN Conference opponents in the tournament on Feb. 21-23.
Central Methodist University University of Houston – Victoria University of Mobile Softball Heart of America Athletic Conference River State Conference Southern States Athletic Conference Game Results
