Story by Chad Waller, NAIA Director of Athletic Communications & Media
Pictures courtesy of Paul Penders Photography, Click HERE to order

CLERMONT, Fla. – (Box Score) (Bracket) A two-out, three-run rally in the top of the seventh inning lifted No. 6 Southern Oregon to a 5-3 win over No. 7 Mobile (Ala.) in the elimination bracket of the 2018 NAIA Softball World Series at Legends Way Ball Fields. The 38th annual event is hosted by PFX Athletics for the second-straight year.

Up Next:

• Southern Oregon survives and will play the loser of No. 9 Freed-Hardeman (Tenn.) / No. 1 Georgia Gwinnett Monday at Noon EDT in the elimination bracket.
• With a 0-2 record in the World Series, Mobile ends its season with a 46-15 overall mark.

Key Turning Point of the Game:

• Trailing 3-2 in the top of the seventh inning, Southern Oregon sent eight batters to the plate to take the victory.
• Avery Morehead-Hutsell led off with a single. But two batters later, the Raiders were staring at a deficit with just one out remaining.
• Morehead-Hutsell tied the score after advancing to third on a Harlee Donovan single and coming around on an error by the right fielder.
• Pinch-hitter Rebecca Velasquez then delivered a RBI-double, followed by a run-producing single by Tayler Walker.
• When the dust settled, Southern Oregon posted three runs on four hits coupled with two Mobile errors in the inning.

Clutch Performer

• Southern Oregon reliever Morgan Jones was instrumental in the victory. She entered in the top of the fourth inning and improved to 8-4 in the circle.
• Jones’ line was 4.0 innings pitched, allowing one earned run on two hits. She did not give up a walk.

Game Notes:

• Seven players recorded a hit for Southern Oregon, led by a pair of knocks by Hannah Shimek. Rebecca Velasquez finished with the team’s only extra-base hit on a seventh-inning double.
• The top of the Mobile batting order carried the offensive load going 4-for-7. Emily Fleetwood and Payton Adams each had two hits.
• Both defenses did not have their best output combining for six errors. The Mobile defense had four.
• In its 19th all-time World Series appearance, Mobile falls to 51-38. The Rams fail to win one game in the World Series since 2000 – this is their 13th trip since 2000.
• Southern Oregon moves to 3-3 in its second all-time World Series event.
• The team scoring first through six games now is 3-3.
• The home team is 2-4.
• The higher seeds now hold a 4-2 record thus far in the World Series.

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Source: National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics