May 9, 2007

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The Samford University softball team will begin its quest for an automatic bid to the 2007 NCAA Tournament on Thursday as the Bulldogs square off against the Austin Peay Lady Govs at 12:30 p.m., in the opening round of the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament.

The six-team OVC Tournament will be held at the TTU Softball Complex in Cookeville, Tenn., from Thursday, May 10 until Saturday, May 12.

Fans not able to attend Thursday's games in person can listen to Justin Firesheets call the action live on 91.1 FM and via the internet at www.al.com/wvsu. Live stats will also be available for all of Samford's OVC Tournament games at www.SamfordSports.com.

Samford (30-21, 15-11 OVC) heads into this weekend's postseason competition as the third-seeded team in the tournament.

Despite being picked to finish seventh in the conference's preseason rankings along with Austin Peay (27-28, 12-15 OVC), the Bulldogs have registered their best record in school history this year and head coach Beanie Ketcham has earned her fifth-consecutive 20-win season.

Samford has been victorious in 14 of its last 21 games of the regular season and finished the year with a perfect 8-0 record in neutral contests. The Lady Govs have compiled a 5-6 record in neutral games this season.

The Bulldogs have qualified for the OVC Tournament three times out of their four years in the conference and own a 2-4 all-time record in the postseason event.

In each of Samford's appearances prior to this season, the Bulldogs have tallied a 1-2 record in the OVC Tournament. During the 2004 campaign, Samford defeated Jacksonville State 9-8 in the opening round, but then fell to both Eastern Kentucky 4-0 and Tennessee Tech 1-0.

The Bulldogs also won their first game of the 2005 OVC Tournament with a 4-2 victory against Eastern Kentucky. In the second round, Samford was defeated by Tennessee Tech 6-0 before being outlasted by Southeast Missouri 6-5 in an 11-inning showdown, the longest game in OVC Tournament history.

Austin Peay enters the 2007 OVC Tournament as the sixth-seeded team in the three-day competition.

The Lady Govs earned the final spot in the field despite losing three of its final four OVC games of the season. Over the weekend, Austin Peay dropped two out of three games against Eastern Kentucky, but still qualified for the tournament by holding the tiebreaker against Tennessee State.

Austin Peay is the No. 2-ranked pitching team in the conference. The Lady Govs currently possess a miniscule 2.08 team earned run average and are being led by senior Natasha Anderson.

Anderson is the fourth-ranked pitcher in the OVC and heads into the tournament with a 1.51 ERA, a 19-17 record and 284 strikeouts.

Samford's Stephanie Royall is also one of the top pitchers in the conference. Last week, she didn't allow an earned run for a third-consecutive week and extended her streak to 41-straight innings without giving up an earned run.

The Bulldogs' 5-foot-10 right-hander from Mill Valley, Calif., has only allowed one earned run in her previous nine outings and owns a miniscule 0.14 ERA since April 11.

She hurled a two-hit, 10-inning shutout victory against first-place Tennessee Tech in her only start Sunday and tied a season-high with 11 strikeouts in the 1-0 win. Royall recorded her seventh shutout of the season and moved into a two-way tie for first place on Samford's single-season wins list (18).

Samford is ranked first in the OVC in stolen bases (80) and is fifth in the conference in home runs (28).

The Bulldogs currently have a school-record total of 80 stolen bases this season and recently surpassed last season's mark of 76. Samford is leading the OVC in stolen bases this year and holds a +16 margin over Tennessee-Martin (65), the second-place team in the league.

Tennessee Tech leads the OVC in home runs with 71, while Southeast Missouri (57), Jacksonville State (55), Tennessee-Martin (32) and Samford (28) round out the top five.

Earlier this season, the Bulldogs played a three-game series at Austin Peay and won two of the three contests held in Clarksville, Tenn.

Samford lost the first game of the series 1-0, but then rallied for victories of 9-1 and 1-0 to close out the two-day set. The Bulldogs own a 24-10 all-time record against APSU and are 8-4 since joining the OVC in 2004.

With a win against Austin Peay on Thursday, Samford would advance to the winner's bracket and would face second-seeded Jacksonville State at 5:30 p.m. With a loss to Austin Peay, the Bulldogs would play the loser between Eastern Kentucky and Tennessee-Martin at 10 a.m., Friday.