April 22, 2005

MOREHEAD, Ky. - The Samford University softball team will attempt to regain its first-place position in the Ohio Valley Conference this weekend as the Bulldogs begin a critical three-game series against the Morehead State Eagles on Saturday with a doubleheader starting at 1 p.m.

Samford (22-20, 13-5 OVC) heads into this weekend's matchup as the second-place team in the conference and trails Jacksonville State (31-14, 13-4 OVC) by half a game.

The Bulldogs have won four of their previous six contests against league opponents and own a stellar 8-3 road record versus OVC competition. Last weekend, Samford snapped its six-game road winning streak with a 7-0 loss at Southeast Missouri. The Bulldogs dropped two of the three games in the weekend series by salvaging a 4-3 victory in Sunday's finale.

Morehead State (10-31, 3-12 OVC) enters the three-game series as the ninth-place team in the conference.

The Eagles are in the midst of a nine-game losing streak and have not been victorious since knocking off Tennessee-Martin on April 9, 1-0. In their previous 10 games, Morehead State has been outscored by its competition, 62-8.

MSU is being led offensively by senior Michelle McCrady and sophomore Tessa Young.

McCrady, a first baseman from Parkersburg, W. Va., paces Morehead State with a .279 batting average, while Young follows closely with a .278 percentage. The Eagles' top pitcher this season has been sophomore Lauren Cook. A native of Maineville, Ohio, Cook owns a team-best 1.93 ERA and a 2-4 record.

Samford has already had all seven of its highly-touted freshmen make appearances in the starting lineup this season.

Third baseman Bethany Weisser has started 38 games for the Bulldogs, while Emily Deaux, Tracey Deaux, Jeslyn Metcalf, Haley Scism, Meghan Wagner and Heather Williams have all started in at least 10 contests this season. All six freshmen position players started in game against Birmingham-Southern on March 6.

The Bulldogs currently own an unblemished 3-0 all-time record against Morehead State.

The conference foes met for the first time during the 2004 season and Samford earned a three-game sweep over the Eagles at home in Birmingham, Ala. In the series held at Bulldog Field, Samford posted consecutive victories of 8-6, 4-2 and 5-0.

The Samford University softball team will attempt to remain undefeated against the Morehead State Eagles on Saturday as the teams compete in a pivotal OVC doubleheader at the MSU Softball Field beginning at 1 p.m., in Morehead, Ky.