March 18, 2010

Box Score

KENNESAW, Ga. ---- The Samford softball team dropped its midweek meeting with Kennesaw State Thursday afternoon, 1-0, on the road. The Bulldogs fall to 7-10 overall while Kennesaw State improves to 13-10.

Both pitchers threw two-hitters but it was Kennesaw State who was able to capitalize on those two hits.

The first three innings ended scoreless before the Kennesaw State was able to get on the board in the bottom of the fourth inning. Sharon Swanson doubled to left field with one out to set up a scoring opportunity for the Owls. Swanson then advanced to third on a fly out before scoring on a single by Karlie Gillam.

"They put their two hits together and we didn't," Samford Head Coach Beanie Ketcham said. "That was the difference in this ballgame. (Jessica Cross) threw a good game. You have to give her a lot of credit for that."

Stephanie Royall (4-3) pitched her second complete game of the season, giving up just one earned run on two hits with two walks and two strikeouts. Cross struck out seven for the Owls in seven innings of play.

Alex Adams and Aaren Fisher each had a hit for the Bulldogs while Swanson and Gillam had the two KSU hits. Swanson also scored the run while Gillam recorded the RBI.

Samford heads to Furman on Friday to play in its second conference series of the season.

Furman (2-6, 0-3 SoCon) was swept by the defending SoCon Champion Chattanooga last weekend in the first league series before falling to Georgia, 8-0, in a midweek matchup on Wednesday. The Paladins have only won two games so far this season including their season opener against Charleston Southern and the second game of a doubleheader with Oakland.

Morgan Hughey and Stephanie Field lead the Paladins at the plate so far. Hughey and Field are two of six Paladins who have started every game and the only two hitting above .300. Hughey boasts a batting average of .385 with four runs, 10 RBI on 10 hits and three home runs. Field is batting .387 with seven runs on 12 hits, one double and one triple.

Lana Mackey (1-4) returns as Furman's best pitcher with a 2.05 ERA. In 30.2 innings of play, she has struck out 53 batters and only walked eight. She currently holds opponents to a .212 batting average.

Fans can follow all the action via live stats through links on the Samford Softball schedule page. A full recap and results will be available at www.samfordsports.com upon the completion of each day's action.