April 20, 2006

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The Samford University softball team will begin a three-game Ohio Valley Conference series against the Southeast Missouri Redhawks on Friday as the teams are scheduled to play a series-opening doubleheader beginning at 4 p.m., at Bulldog Field.

Both games can be heard live via the Internet at www.samfordsports.com. Live stats will also be made available through GameTracker at www.samfordsports.com.

Samford (14-34, 4-12 OVC) heads into Friday's action looking a make a final run towards qualifying for upcoming OVC Tournament, which will be held May 11-13.

The top-six teams in the final conference standings qualify for the three-day event and the Bulldogs currently sit in eighth place. Entering the weekend, Eastern Illinois is 9-8 in OVC play, while Austin Peay holds a 7-10 conference record. Eastern Illinois and Austin Peay are ranked sixth and seventh in the OVC, respectively.

Samford, which would need to finish in sixth place to qualify for the postseason event, is currently 4.5 games behind Eastern Illinois with 10 games remaining.

This weekend, Eastern Illinois will host first-place Tennessee Tech in a three-game series held at Williams Field in Charleston, Ill. Austin Peay will take to the road this week and play three games against Tennessee State in Nashville, Tenn.

Southeast Missouri (27-12, 14-3 OVC) heads into the weekend as one of the hottest teams in the conference. The Redhawks currently find themselves in sole possession of second place in the OVC and are only one game out of the top spot.

Since March 12, Southeast Missouri has been victorious in 22 of its 26 games and has strung together winning streaks of eight and six games.

The Redhawks earned a doubleheader sweep against Eastern Illinois on Tuesday by recording wins of 11-1 and 10-5. Southeast Missouri is ranked 21st in the nation in team batting average with a .304 mark. The Redhawks have six players batting at least .300 this season and are being led by Megan McDonald's .386 batting average.

Samford currently holds a 5-3 advantage in its all-time series versus Southeast Missouri.

The series began during the 1995 campaign as the Bulldogs earned a 6-2 non-conference win over the Redhawks.

The teams did not face off again until Samford joined the OVC in 2003. Since then, the Bulldogs have put together a 4-3 record in the series, but were defeated in three out of four contests last year, including an 11-game marathon in the 2005 OVC Tournament.

Samford has two players ranked among the top-six in the Ohio Valley Conference in stolen bases as true freshmen Jessica Owens and Rachael Reeves are currently tied for sixth place with 13 stolen bases. Both Owens and Reeves are 13 for 16 in stolen base attempts this season.

Junior Shelley Stanley is tied for fifth in the conference in walks as she has already earned 18 bases on balls this season. She is also ranked seventh in the OVC in home runs with seven.

Samford's freshman pitcher Stephanie Royall has been a workhorse this season. She is ranked first in the conference in appearances (38) and is third in innings (160.0). Royall is also third in shutouts (5), fourth in complete games (14), fifth in games started (21) and seventh in strikeouts (108).

The Samford University softball team will attempt to keep its postseason hopes alive this weekend as the Bulldogs play host to the second-place Southeast Missouri Redhawks in a three-game OVC series to be held at Bulldog Field. The teams will play a series-opening doubleheader on Friday at 4 p.m.

Both games can be heard live via the Internet at www.samfordsports.com. Live stats will also be available through GameTracker at www.samfordsports.com.

Live Stats - Game One
Live Stats - Game Two
Live Stats - Game Three