Oct. 8, 2005

TRUSSVILLE, Ala. - The Samford University softball team earned a pair of victories in the opening day of the 2005 Samford Fall Tournament on Saturday as the Bulldogs defeated Jefferson State, 1-0, and Alabama Southern, 1-0, at the Trussville Sports Complex.

Samford (2-1) dropped its opening game of the day against Birmingham-Southern, 3-2, but rebounded with two-straight victories in pool play. In the Bulldogs' slight loss to BSC, junior shortstop Liz Pearse powered a two-run homer in the bottom of the seventh inning.

In Samford's 1-0 victory over Jefferson State, the Bulldogs' junior pitcher, Susanna Meyer, pitched six shutout innings and accumulated five strikeouts. Freshman Jessica Owens scored the game winning run.

In the Bulldogs' nightcap against Alabama Southern, junior right fielder Shelley Stanley slammed a home run to give Samford the 1-0 victory. Freshman pitcher Stephanie Royall hurled six innings of shutout softball and finished with nine strikeouts.

Senior Emilee Lewis earned her second save of the fall season against Alabama Southern. In the seventh inning, she struck out two batters to close out the game.

The Samford University softball team will resume play in the 2005 Samford Fall Tournament on Sunday as the Bulldogs square off against Enterprise at 11 a.m., before beginning championship play at 1:30 p.m.

Following pool play, each team will be seeded based on their record. The final game for each team will be a head-to-head matchup between pools A and B.

2005 Samford Fall Tournament
Saturday Results

Game One
Birmingham-Southern def. Samford, 3-2

Game Two
Samford def. Jefferson State, 1-0

Game Three
Samford def. Alabama Southern, 1-0