April 3, 2009
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. ---- The Samford softball team will be back on the road this weekend as its kicks off a six-game road swing at Georgia Southern. The Bulldogs and Eagles will meet up in Statesboro, Ga., Saturday for a doubleheader followed by a single game series closer on Sunday.
The Eagles hold a 5-11 series record against the Bulldogs and when the two teams met last season in the Magic City Classic, Georgia Southern was the 4-0 victor. However, Samford has won two of its last three meetings with Georgia Southern, with those two coming in the 2007 season.
"Georgia Southern will be tough this weekend," Samford head coach Beanie Ketcham said. "They are playing well, but they are not unbeatable."
Samford (10-17, 5-5 SoCon) comes off a weekend in which it took one of three games in a weekend series at home against Furman. The Bulldogs took the first game, 3-2, before falling the final two games, 7-3 and 2-0. Samford batters combined for 19 hits while the pitchers combined for 18 strikeouts and only gave up nine earned runs.
The Bulldogs have won four of their last ten contests, three of those against conference foes. They now rank eighth in the league's standings.
"We have dug ourselves into a hole and we know that we can't get it all back in one weekend," Ketcham said. "Our approach has to be one game at a time. Our players are not giving up. We are beat up but not out by a long shot. We've battled through a lot of adversity this season and there is still a lot of the season left. I am confident we will find our stride down the backstretch."
The Bulldog pitching staff is led by two-time Southern Conference Pitcher of the Week Stephanie Royall. The redshirt junior won the weekly award for the second consecutive time this week. The Mill Valley, Calif., native pitched 15 innings against Furman while allowing only two earned runs in going 1-1 against the Paladins. Royall stuck out 10 batters, while walking just one. She picked up the win in game one of the series. In games two and three, despite the Bulldogs suffering defeats, Royall gave up no earned runs in 10.2 innings of work.
Senior Kristy Lawrence, junior Katie England and sophomore Aaren Fisher are the current offensive threats for the Bulldogs. All boast four home runs on the season and combine for 53 total RBI and 63 hits. Lawrence leads the team in slugging percentage with .513 while leading players who have played in all 27 games this season with a .333 batting average.
Georgia Southern (15-15, 5-4 SoCon) is currently ranked third in the Southern Conference standings. The Eagles had the weekend off after splitting a doubleheader with in-state rival Georgia Tech last Tuesday, March 24. GSU dropped the first meeting, 9-1, before taking the second one, 6-5. The victory over the Yellow Jackets snapped a non-conference home winning streak for GT that stretched back to 2007.
The Eagles are led by this week's Southern Conference Player of the Week Robyne Siliga. Siliga went 4-for-5 and hit a three-run home run to help lead the Eagles in their 6-5 win over Georgia Tech last Tuesday. In game two with the Eagles clinging to a tight 3-2 lead, Siliga blasted a three-run home run to put the margin at 6-2.
The first game on Saturday will begin at 12 p.m. CT followed by a second game at approximately 2 p.m. The series will wrap up on Sunday with an 11 a.m. start at Eagle Field. Fans can follow all the action via live stats through links on www.georgiasoutherneagles.com.
