March 16, 2003

Box Score

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - Samford University swept its way to the 2003 Samford Invitational title defeating future OVC rival Eastern Illinois 3-2 and Alabama A&M 8-2 to extend its winning streak to seven-straight games at Bulldog Field on Sunday.

Michelle Wright earned tournament MVP honors by batting .364 with two home runs and four RBI in the four games. Her two-run home run in the fourth inning of the Eastern Illinois game tied the game at 2-2. Wright passed Janet Middleton for first place on Samford's all-time RBI list giving her 67 career runs batted in.

Angela Bednark batted .385 with two home runs and three RBI to earn All-Tournament honors. Other members of the All-Tournament team were Tasha Sloan of Alabama A&M who was 1-1 in the circle pitching a tournament high 21.2 innings and striking out 13 batters. Eastern Illinois' Kristen Becker was also named to the All-Tournament team with a 1-1 record. She had an ERA of 1.62 with one shutout and fanned six batters in 13 innings of work while batting .250 for the Panthers.

Samford (14-6) got past Eastern Illinois (5-12) 3-2 in the first game. EIU took a 2-0 lead by scoring single runs in the second and third innings. The Panthers first run was unearned as Becker led off the inning with a double and then scored on a throwing error. Carrie Ninness singled to lead off the third, stole second, and advanced to third on a wild pitch before Kristin Lovering singled her home. Wright's two-run blast, her seventh of the season, in the fourth tied the game and Sarah Godfrey hit the first home run of her career to left field in the sixth inning to give Samford the victory. Erin Landsburg pitched seven innings giving up two runs, one earned, on six hits and fanned five to improve to 5-2 on the season.

The Bulldogs completed the sweep with an 8-2 win over Alabama A&M (3-19). Samford scored a pair of unearned runs in the first inning as Godfrey walk and Landsburg reached on a throwing error. As the throw to first went wide, Godfrey scored all the way from first and Landsburg ended up on third base where she scored on an Abi Casillo RBI ground out. The Bulldogs added three more runs in the second inning to make the score 5-0. Kelly Smith, Deanna Resmondo, Godfrey, and Landsburg all had singles. Smith scored on Godfrey's hit while Resmondo scored on Landsburg's hit. Godfrey scored from third on a failed pick-off play.

A&M got on the scoreboard as Jamie Curruthers singled to lead off the third inning and then scored on a wild pitch. Samford answered with a three-run home run by Smith in the bottom of the third that scored Erin Hall and Trisha Holman. For Smith it was her third home run of the season. She batted .556 in the tournament with a double, two home runs and seven RBI. A&M added a run in the seventh on an RBI single by Jessica Jackson that scored Kelly Hendrix. Emilee Lewis picked up the win for Samford throwing 6.1 innings giving up two runs on five hits and striking out eight. Landsburg came on to record the final two outs of the game.

In the first game of the day Alabama A&M defeated Eastern Illinois 2-1 in eight innings. Jackson had the game-winning RBI as she singled home Carruthers with the winning run in the bottom of the eighth inning. EIU scored first in the top of the third inning on an RBI single by Ninness that scored Jessica Irps. A&M tied the game in the bottom of the third on an RBI-double by Taryn Hartley that scored Shenna Townsend. Tasha Sloan got the win for A&M pitching eight innings giving up just one unearned run and three hits.

Samford will put its seven-game winning streak on the line on Tuesday as it travels to cross-town rival UAB for a 6 p.m. game at George Ward Park. The Bulldogs have won all three Samford Invitationals and have a 16-1 record in the three years of the tournament.