Feb. 26, 2009

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. ---- The Samford softball team will be back in action this week as it co-hosts the annual Magic City Classic Tournament, Feb. 27-March 1 at the Spain Park High School Softball Complex in Hoover, Ala. Samford partners with cross-town rival UAB to co-host the event.

The Bulldogs' first game will be at 3:30 p.m. CT against Northern Illinois at Field One. Saturday, the Bulldogs will play a doubleheader starting at 11 a.m. against Michigan State followed by a meeting with rival UAB at 1:30 p.m. Samford will close out play in the three-day tournament on Sunday at 1:30 p.m. against Alabama State.

For a complete tournament schedule, live stats and results, go to the Magic City Classic Tournament Central page on www.uabsports.com. A full recap and results will be available for Samford's games on www.samfordsports.com upon the completion of each day.

Last season, Samford (5-6) finished 2-3 in the tournament defeating Birmingham Southern and Grambling State while falling to UAB, Columbia and Georgia Southern.

The Bulldogs go into the weekend fresh off a tough loss on Wednesday against Troy University. The Bulldogs had a 5-1 lead after the fifth inning, with all five Samford runs being scored in the bottom of the first. However, the Trojans bats got hot and due to a few Bulldog errors, Troy scored six straight runs in the top of the sixth inning. Along with the runs scored in the fourth and seventh, Troy walked away with the 8-5 win.

"The way to overcome a tough loss like that is to own our mistakes and realize what got us beat because it is all fixable," Samford head coach Beanie Ketcham said. "When we are playing at our best, we are focused, precise and seeing the ball. When we get back to those things, we will give ourselves a chance to win every time we step on the field."

The loss to Troy is the third loss for the Bulldogs in a game in which they were either leading early in the game or only lost by two runs at the most. In the Southern Miss Invitational, the Bulldogs fell to Western Kentucky, 3-2, in eight innings after the Hilltoppers tied the game in the top of the seventh and scored the winning run in the eighth. Against UTEP last Sunday, Samford scored the first run of the game but allowed the Miners to score three in the next two innings which would eventually give UTEP the 3-1 win.

"We are a team that has to do the little things well - consistently well," Ketcham said. "We are also in a situation where we have to be very interdependent, meaning everyone has a job to do and they must work together for us to be successful. Of the close games we have lost, we have beaten ourselves. The good news is that we have the personnel and the game plan to win, we just have to execute better. We are in control of our own destiny."

Senior Jessica Owens leads the Bulldogs with a .568 batting average and 21 hits. Aaren Fisher boasts the second-most RBI for the Bulldogs and her triple on Wednesday against Troy brought in a team game-high three runs. She also leads Samford with three homeruns.

Krsity Lawrence has posted 113 putouts so far this season while boasting the second-best batting average of the team (446) and a team-best slugging percentage (655). Amy Gonzalez is still sporting a perfect 5-5 in stolen bases attempts.

Samford has a four-pitcher rotation that includes Fisher, Kayla Burris, Amanda Barrs and Stephanie Royall. Fisher boasts the crew's best ERA (2.71) and has a 1-0 record in 10.1 innings. Burris has a 1-1 record in nine appearances and 11.2 innings. She has given up the least hits of the foursome with seven and has only walked three batters. She has also struck out 15. Barrs is 0-3 on the season and has thrown 25.1 innings.

Royall looks to be Samford leading pitcher on the season, though. She has a 3-3 record and has pitched 35.2 innings. She and Barrs have both pitched one complete game, but Royall leads the Bulldogs with 26 strikeouts and has only walked 13 batters.

Scouting Northern Illinois...

Northern Illinois is 2-3 coming into the Magic City Classic. One of its two wins came against Houston, a team that was ranked No. 18 earlier this season. Down three runs in the bottom of the sixth, the Huskies sparked a five-run rally to come out victorious.

Andrea Colosimo leads NIU with a .267 batting average, two home runs and a team-high five RBI. She has also spent some time in the pitching circle. In three innings, she has allowed only two hits and struck out four batters.

Morgan Bittner is the top pitcher for the Huskies. She holds a record of 1-2 and boasts a 3.71 ERA in 17.0 innings pitched. She has posted 16 strikeouts and has held her opponents to a collective .167 batting average so far this season.

Scouting UAB...

The Blazers are 4-10 so far this season but have faced some tough competition on the way into this weekend. UAB has faced No. 20-ranked LSU four times already this season. Out of those four times, the Blazers won once, 5-3, in the Hawaii Paradise Classic. UAB has also faced No. 7 Oklahoma twice falling both times, 18-0 (5) and 13-1 (5).

Catherine Douglass leads the Blazers in hitting with a .393 batting average and a .643 slugging percentage but Andrea Rogers and Amanda Allen lead in RBI with eight a piece. Rogers has brought in eight on seven hits, scoring six runs herself while Allen has eight RBI on nine hits with two doubles and two homeruns.

Lindsey Croft (1-6) leads the Blazer pitching staff with a 5.05 ERA in 46.1 innings pitched. She has struck out 31 batters and walked 33 while giving up 49 hits so far in the season.

Scouting Michigan State...

Michigan State enters the weekend with a 4-6 record on the season. The Spartans looking to snap a four-game losing streak after posted a 1-4 record in the Florida Gulf Coast University's Spring Break Invitational last weekend. They are led by Gina Mondo and Kara Weigle, who are batter over .400 on the year. Monda has the team's highest average (.458) and a .750 slugging percentage. Weigle leads Michigan State with 14 hits and a .424 average at the plate.

Michigan State's pitching rotation consists of four pitchers who share an equal amount of time in the circle.

Shae Bass is 1-1 on the year and holds the team's best ERA, 3.32. Megan Hair has pitched the most innings, 20.1, for the Spartans and leads her team in strikeouts with nine.

Scouting Alabama State...

Alabama State started out the season dropping 10 straight contests before recording a 5-3 win over South Alabama. Alabama State's head coach, Telma O'Neal-Hall, is in her fourth season at the healm of the Hornet club. Over the past three seasons, she has posted a 22-73 record.

Last season, ASU went 4-34 overall and 2-12 in the Southwestern Athletic Conference.