April 9, 2008

Box Score

JACKSONVILLE, Ala. - Samford's Amanda Barrs powered a first-inning grand slam to give the Bulldogs an early 4-0 lead Wednesday, but the Jacksonville State Gamecocks rallied to score four runs in the bottom of the fifth inning to snare a 9-8 Ohio Valley Conference victory at University Field.

With the loss, Samford (13-23, 5-10 OVC) dropped to 3-7 in road games this season. Since the beginning of conference play March 15, the Bulldogs have compiled a 2-5 record in contests held outside of Birmingham, Ala.

Jacksonville State (24-9, 13-1 OVC) extended its winning streak to 12 games against conference opponents. The first-place Gamecocks have not been defeated in OVC play since a 4-2 loss at Tennessee Tech on March 16. With the win, Jacksonville State widened its lead in the conference to four games.

Against its in-state rival Wednesday, Samford powered two home runs and tallied nine hits.

The Bulldogs jumped out to an early 4-0 lead in the top of the first inning as Barrs ripped a line-drive grand slam to right field. Later, in the fifth inning, Samford rallied for three runs on four hits and took an 8-5 advantage in the game. During the Bulldogs' rally, sophomore Katie England blasted her fifth home run of the season.

Following Samford's three-run fifth inning, Jacksonville State's offense bounced back to score four runs of its own in the bottom of the frame.

Whitney Elder ignited the rally with a double to left field and the Gamecocks scored four runs on four hits to take the decisive 9-8 lead. The backbreaking blow of the frame was delivered by Nikki Prior, who hit a two-run homer to left center field. The home run was Prior's team-leading 11th of the season.

Prior was one of seven Jacksonville State players to record a base hit Wednesday. She paced the squad with a 3-for-4 performance at the plate, while Allie Barker was 2-for-4 and also connected on a home run.

Samford also finished with seven players earning base hits.

Junior leftfielder Jessica Owens led the team with a 2-for-3 performance at the plate, while Barrs turned in a 2-for-4 outing. Barrs, who started in the circle for the Bulldogs, scored a run and tied a career-high with four RBI.

The top six players in Samford's lineup registered base hits. Jeslyn Metcalf was 1-for-4 with a run scored, while both Aaren Fisher and Emily Deaux turned in 1-for-3 performances at the plate.

Jacksonville State's Ashley Eliasson (8-2) picked up the victory in the circle. She came on in relief of starter Melissa Dowling in the first inning and limited Samford to two earned runs in seven innings. The Bulldogs' Kayla Burrs (5-6) was handed the loss.

After Samford scored four runs in the top of the first inning, Jacksonville State answered with two runs of its own in the bottom of the frame.

In the third inning, the Gamecocks scored three runs to take a 5-4 lead. Samford then tacked on a run in the top of the fourth frame to tie the game at 5-5 before exploding for its three-run outburst in the top of the fifth.

The Samford University softball team will next be in action Saturday at 1 p.m., as the Bulldogs begin a critical three-game OVC series at home against the Southeast Missouri Redhawks. The teams will play a doubleheader Saturday followed by the series finale Sunday at 1 p.m.