March 11, 2007

Game 1 - Box Score
Game 2 - Box Score

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The Samford University softball team earned the championship title of the 2007 Bulldog Bash on Sunday as the Bulldogs finished the two-day competition with a 3-1 record. Saint Louis also recorded a 3-1 mark in the event, but fell short in the tiebreaker.

Samford (13-9) tallied a 1-1 record Sunday after losing to Saint Louis (7-10), 5-4, and beating Alabama State (6-11), 3-2.

The Bulldogs finished the three-team competition with a plus-nine run differential to win the tiebreaker with Saint Louis. The Billikens split their games with Samford over the weekend, but only compiled a plus-five run differential. Alabama State ended the tournament with an 0-4 record.

Samford and Saint Louis squared off twice this weekend with each team scoring 10 runs in the head-to-head contests. The Bulldogs came from behind to defeat Saint Louis, 6-5, on Saturday, while the Billikens rallied for a 5-4 victory against Samford on Sunday.

"I didn't think that we played very well today, but we did what we had to do," said Samford head coach Beanie Ketcham. "Unfortunately, the first game didn't go our way and it was tough for me to have to pitch Susanna (Meyer) and Amanda (Barrs) so much, because each team had seen them so many times already. I thought our pitchers threw well today, but I was expecting to get more run support."

In Samford's first game Sunday, Saint Louis rallied for four runs in the final three innings to pick up a 5-4 victory.

The Bulldogs jumped out to an early 1-0 lead in the contest as sophomore Jessica Owens led off the first inning with a single and later scored on an RBI groundout by Jenna Dempski. After Saint Louis tied the game at 1-1 in the bottom of the frame, Samford used a three-run homer from senior Shelley Stanley to take a 4-1 advantage.

Stanley, the Bulldogs' all-time home run leader with 32 in her career, was named the MVP of the 2007 Bulldog Bash on Sunday. She registered a .385 batting average over the weekend, powered two home runs and tallied seven RBIs.

Samford's Emily Deaux, Jeslyn Metcalf and Amanda Barrs were also named to the all-tournament team of the Bulldog Bash.

Trailing by a score of 4-1 in the bottom of the sixth inning, Saint Louis trimmed its deficit to 4-3 by plating a pair of unearned runs. The Billikens' Nicki Jost led off the frame with a double and later scored on a fielder's choice groundout by Rachel Heet.

Jost went 2-for-3 in the game and scored a pair of runs. Second baseman Christy Ernst also turned in a solid performance at the plate with a 1-for-3 outing. She scored two of Saint Louis' runs and also registered an RBI.

After Jost crossed the plate to make the score, 4-2, Shana Richard drove in Ernst from third base on a fielder's choice to third base. The run trimmed Samford's lead to 4-3.

In the bottom of the seventh inning, Saint Louis' leftfielder Jill Purcell powered a leadoff home run to center field to send the game to extra innings. Purcell, the Billikens' all-tournament performer, went 2-for-4 with an RBI and a run scored against Samford.

The Bulldogs failed to score in the top of the eighth inning and Saint Louis made them pay with a game-winning score in the bottom half of the frame.

Rachel Heet earned the clinching RBI with one out as she dropped a squeeze bunt to first base allowing Ernst to score the game-winner.

"That was a tough loss for us," Ketcham said. "We really should have won that game and we should have hit the ball better against them. I thought that we were seeing their pitcher well, but the hits just weren't coming."

With the championship title of the 2007 Bulldog Bash on the line, Samford held off a pesky Alabama State team for a 3-2 victory in the nightcap.

The Bulldogs jumped out to an early 3-0 lead in the contest and held off a late rally from the Lady Hornets. In the top of the seventh inning, Alabama State's Destinee Sanchaz sent a two-out double to left field before Yolan Smith slammed a two-run homer to deep center field.

After the Lady Hornets cut Samford's lead to 3-2, senior Susanna Meyer came on in relief and earned her second save of the season by forcing Pamela Curry to ground out for the final out.

The Bulldogs' true freshman Amanda Barrs (2-1) earned the victory, while Alabama State's Sanchaz (3-4) was saddled with the loss.

The Samford University softball team will next be in action Saturday as the Bulldogs begin Ohio Valley Conference play with a three-game series on the road against the Southeast Missouri Redhawks.

The OVC foes will play a doubleheader Saturday beginning at 1 p.m., followed by the series finale at noon Sunday.

2007 Bulldog Bash
Final Standings

1. Samford: 3-1 (+9 run differential)
1. Saint Louis: 3-1 (+5 run differential)
3. Alabama State: 0-4

All-Tournament Team
OF: Shelley Stanley, Samford (MVP)
P: Amanda Barrs, Samford
OF: Emily Deaux, Samford
1B: Kinsley Kelley, Saint Louis
P: Ashley Levan, Saint Louis
OF: Jeslyn Metcalf, Samford
OF: April O'Neal, Alabama State
OF: Jill Pursell, Saint Louis
P: Destinee Sanchaz, Alabama State