Feb. 9, 2006

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - The Samford University softball team will begin play in its 2006 season on Friday as the Bulldogs open the highly-competitive Florida State Early Bird Tournament against Nicholls State at 11 a.m., at JoAnne Graf Field.

Following its season-opening matchup against Nicholls State, Samford is scheduled to square off against hometown-favorite Florida State at 6:30 p.m.

"We're looking forward to beginning the season and we're looking forward to the challenge of going up against some really good teams," said Samford head coach Beanie Ketcham. "I think that we have a lot of talented players on this team and I'm looking forward to seeing them play against some top-notch opposition."

The 2006 Florida State Early Bird Tournament consists of the following four teams: Florida State, Louisville, Nicholls State and Samford. The Bulldogs are slated to play Louisville at 11 a.m., on Saturday and the championship round of the tournament will begin that afternoon.

Samford heads into Friday's competition looking to win its season-opening game for a second-consecutive year.

In 2005, the Bulldogs started their season on the road against Troy and picked up a 1-0 victory over the Trojans. Three years ago, Samford earned a similar 1-0 win against Auburn.

Samford returns seven starters from its 2005 team that finished with a 27-26 overall record and a 17-9 mark in Ohio Valley Conference play.

"Our team has definitely shown a lot of growth and a lot of maturity since last season," Ketcham said. "We have six sophomores on the team this year and I think that it is really their time to shine. They have each grown a lot since last season and it's going to be fun to watch the progress that they've made."

The 2006 Bulldogs also boast 11 returning letterwinners and were recently picked fourth in the conference's preseason rankings. Last year, Samford finished as the third-place team in the league and defeated Eastern Kentucky in the opening round of the OVC Tournament.

"I'm a little nervous about this season, just because we have the potential to be so good," said Ketcham. "We have a lot of talented players returning and it will be interesting to see how they respond this weekend."

Nicholls State enters the 2006 campaign looking to build upon an 18-34 record from a year ago. In their first season under the tutelage of head coach Jenny Parsons, the Colonels finished eighth in the Southland Conference with a 10-17 mark.

"Nicholls State hits the ball very well, so we're going to have to do a good job against them pitching-wise," Ketcham said. "We're going to have to keep the ball out of the middle and make them hit it where we want them to."

Samford has an 0-8 all-time record against Nicholls State and is 0-9 versus Florida State.

The Seminoles made their sixth-consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance last season and finished the year with a 35-28 record.

Florida State's legendary head coach Dr. JoAnne Graf enters the 2006 season with a phenomenal 1311-395-6 career record. The Seminoles were recently chosen first in the Atlantic Coast Conference's preseason poll for the ninth-straight season.

"Florida State has a very fast team and they really like to run," said Ketcham. "We're going to have to make sure that we play well defensively to keep them off of the bases."

Following Samford's games on Friday, the Bulldogs will continue play in the Florida State Early Bird Tournament on Saturday with an 11 a.m. contest against Louisville.