Five days after bouncing the Rams from the GCAC Tournament in Mobile, AL, the Pilots put Mobile in a bad spot, forcing the Rams to face 3rd-ranked Lee University Thursday at noon. The Pilots will face the winner of that ball game at 6:00 pm.
When the game began, it appeared fans were going to witness offensive fireworks similar to that 18-11 decision in the GCAC Tournament, as LSU-S left the first inning leading 4-3.
But, Pilots' starter Juan Leon and Mobile ace Jesse Luker settled down to dazzle on the mound and shut out the opposing offenses for most of the contest.
Leon went 8 innings, allowing only 1 earned run after the 1st, and limited the Rams to 6 hits. Blake Pinkston picked up the victory with 2 shutout innings out of the bullpen.
Luker on the otherhand, did something almost unheard of these days, he pitched into the 10th inning to give his team a chance with a taxed bullpen. Luker finished with 159 pitches thrown over 9.1 innings of work, while fanning 8 batters and allowing 7 earned runs, including the game-deciding runs in the 10th.
In the 10th, the Pilots got runners at the corners with only 1 out, thanks to a hit-batsman and a single, before Luker was lifted for Scott Mitchell. Mitchell's second pitch of the game resulted in a passed ball that chased home Bryan Stebbings to make it 6-5 in favor of the Pilots.
Then with 2 outs, another hit-batsman and a pair of walks forced home Josh Todd for the final score. The Rams went down 1-2-3 in the 10th inning against Pinkston.
Carlos Romero finished 2-for-4 with a pair of RBI for Mobile, while Kevin Orso went 1-for-5 with 2 RBI. Andrew Blubaugh went went 3-for-4 at the plate to lead the Pilots, while Andrew Brouillette added a 2-for-4 evening with 2 RBI.
Mobile falls to 43-15, while the Pilots improve to 46-14.
