March 29, 2010
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. ---- The Samford softball team wraps up a seven game homestand Tuesday with a non-conference doubleheader against Mercer University. The Bulldogs and Bears will start the first game at 4 p.m., with the second game to follow approximately 30 minutes after the first one ends.
Tuesday will mark the 50th game between the two teams. In the history of the series, Samford has won 28 times to Mercer's 21. The last time the two teams met was last season in a late-season three-game series. The Bulldogs took one of three, losing the first game (6-3) before winning the second (4-0) and dropping the third (5-1).
Samford (9-18, 1-8 SoCon) comes off a tough weekend in which defending Southern Conference Champion Chattanooga came to town and swept the Bulldogs. Samford battled hard on Saturday, dropping the first game on an eighth inning lead-off home run after the Lady Mocs had come back from being down 2-0. The Bulldogs mounted their own comeback late in the second game, coming back from down 7-0 but Chattanooga would go on to win, 7-4. On Sunday, the Lady Mocs' offensive outburst was just too much for Samford as the Bulldogs fell, 12-1.
Redshirt freshman Alex Adams continues to lead her team offensively as the only active Bulldog hitting over .300. She boasts a batting average of .301 having started all 27 games for Samford. She leads the team in RBI (18), hits (25), doubles (6) and home runs (5).
Amanda Jordan is batting .292 and hit a triple and a home run against Chattanooga last weekend. Amy Gonzalez is batting .258, Katie England is batting .233 and Aaren Fisher is batting .194. The same three players hold the top three spots on the team in stolen bases as well. Fisher is 12-of-13 while Gonzalez is 7-of-8 and England is perfect on seven attempts.
Stephanie Royall leads all active Bulldog pitchers with a 2.30 ERA. She has started 10 games and pitched three complete games including two shutouts. She boasts 25 strikeouts on the season and has given up only one home run in 54.2 innings of play.
Mercer (17-15, 1-1 A-Sun) enters Tuesday's meeting fresh off a doubleheader split with Campbell University. The Bears won the first game, 1-0, with the help of junior pitcher Jenni Holtz's first no-hitter of the season. The Bears took the win after scoring in the bottom of the tenth inning on a wild pitch. Mercer was then shutout as well in the second game and Campbell won, 2-0.
Three Bears are currently batting over .300. Holly Oglesbee leads the pack with a .340 batting average in 31 starts of 32 games. Kristin Marko follows with a.326 average while Anna Johnson is close behind at .319. Oglesbee leads in RBI with 15, along with Sarah Santana and Sara Stukes. Marko and Stukes also lead in home runs with four while Johnson leads the team in stolen bases with 16 on 18 attempts.
Holtz (11-9) has seen the most action for Mercer this season, having pitched 134.2 innings and 12 complete games including four shutouts. She also has one save on the year. She boasts a 2.34 ERA and has struck out 206 batters. Junior Kari Chambers boasts the Bears' lowest ERA (1.92) and holds Mercer's second best pitching record of 4-2. She has struck out 40 batters in 40 innings.
First pitch on Tuesday is at 4 p.m., followed by the second game approximately 30 minutes after the completion of the first game. Samford will also be continuing its Home Run Derby in between the two games and after the second. Tuesday will be the last day of the first round.
Admission to the game is free and a full recap and results will be available on www.samfordsports.com upon the completion of the second game.
