March 24, 2009
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. ---- The Samford softball team will head to Tuscaloosa Wednesday to take on No. 4/5-ranked Alabama in a midweek matchup. First pitch is set for 6:30 p.m. CT at the Alabama Softball Stadium.
The Tide holds a 15-2 record in the series with Samford with the most recent meeting being on April 23, 2008. Alabama beat Samford, 7-1, in Tuscaloosa.
Samford (9-15, 3-6 SoCon) comes off a weekend in which it prevented conference leader Chattanooga from sweeping the series by taking the last game on Sunday. After playing two close games on Saturday, the Bulldogs shutout the Lady Mocs in a 6-0 victory at Chattanooga.
Samford is led at the pitcher's circle by this week's Southern Conference Pitcher of the Week Stephanie Royall. The junior from Mill Valley, Calif., pitched two complete games and recorded a 0.54 ERA as she went 1-1 on the weekend in a series against Chattanooga. In Sunday's finale, the junior pitched a shutout as the Bulldogs beat the Mocs, 6-0. Royall struck out 12 batters and gave up one earned run over the two games. She is now tied for first on the Bulldog career shutouts list with 14.
Kylie Harmon was the Bulldogs' standout hitter over the weekend as she went 6-for-10 over the weekend in her first full series back from a month-long hiatus. She scored twice and brought in one while also going a perfect five-of-five in stolen base attempts. Katie England and Aaren Fisher are also a couple of Bulldogs to watch. The pair lead the team with four home runs each while England has 21 RBI and Fisher has 15.
Alabama (26-4, 6-2 SEC) goes into Tuesday's game after sweeping three road games at Ole Miss over the weekend. The Tide outscored the Rebels 31-4 with 28 of those runs coming in Saturday's doubleheader. Sophomore pitcher Kelsi Dunne improved to 12-0 on the year with a one-hit, complete game shutout on Sunday.
The Tide players to watch are All-Americans, junior Charlotte Morgan and senior Brittney Rogers. Morgan goes into the week on a 16-game hit streak that began Feb. 21 against Hawaii. She boasts a .408 batting average and a .653 slugging percentage. Rogers recorded nine hits in 15 appearances at the plate last weekend, scoring nine runs and stealing 10 bases. She has had a hit, a run and at least one stolen bases in each of the last five games. She sports a .600 batting average and a .667 on-base percentage.
First pitch is set for 6:30 p.m. Fans can listen to the Alabama broadcast on the internet via www.thecapstone.ua.edu or follow live stats through links on www.rolltide.com. A full recap and results will be available upon the completion of the game at www.samfordsports.com.
