April 1, 2010
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. ---- The Samford softball team jumps back into Southern Conference action this weekend as it heads to Charleston, S.C., to take on the College of Charleston. The Bulldogs and Cougars will play a doubleheader on Friday followed by a single game on Saturday.
Samford (10-19, 1-8 SoCon) holds a 4-1 series lead over College of Charleston (11-16, 1-4 SoCon). The Bulldogs played the Cougars four times last season after having met only once before in 1993. Samford won that meeting, 8-2.
Last season, Charleston came to Birmingham for the first Southern Conference meeting between the two teams. Because of inclement weather, the first game was called after two innings of play and the rest of the day was washed out. Samford and Charleston played the better part of a tripleheader on Sunday with the Bulldogs taking two out of three in the series.
The two teams met up once more in the first round of the Southern Conference Tournament. The Bulldogs won that meeting by a score of 5-1 to move to the quarterfinals.
Samford comes off a midweek series split with Mercer on Tuesday. After falling in the first game by a score of 5-0, the Bulldogs took the second game, 1-0, on a seventh-inning two-out bunt single to score the only run of the game. The win snapped a five-game losing streak for the Bulldogs at home. Last weekend in conference play, Samford was swept at home by defending conference champion Chattanooga.
The Bulldogs are led by redshirt freshman Alex Adams who has started every game for the Bulldogs and boasts a batting average of .291. She has had 25 hits so far this season, six doubles and five home runs, which might be the reason Mercer intentionally walked her three times on Tuesday.
Junior Amanda Jordan follows just behind with a .282 batting average along with sophomore Amy Gonzalez who boasts a .265 average at the plate. Junior Aaren Fisher continues to lead the Bulldogs in stolen bases with 14. She is just six shy of tying former Bulldog Jessica Owens' single-season record of 20 which she set in 2008.
Senior right-handed pitcher Stephanie Royall still leads all active pitchers with a 5-3 record and a 2.14 ERA. She has pitched three complete games including two shutouts and has retired 30 batters in 59 innings. Freshman Emily Waters pitched her first collegiate game Tuesday in game two of the Mercer series, throwing a complete game and earning her first win in the shutout.
Charleston comes off a doubleheader sweep at South Carolina State on Tuesday. The Cougars shut out their opponent by a score of 8-0 in the first game before taking the second game, 12-1. Last weekend, Charleston dropped two contests at Elon who currently ranks second in the league standings. Charleston fell in the first game (8-0) in six innings and the third (5-4) while winning the second game, 4-1.
Charleston is led by three starters who are batting above .300. Last season's SoCon Player of the Year and preseason First Team All-SoCon third baseman Kristie Shifflett leads the pack with a .347 average at the plate. She boasts 14 RBI on 25 hits, nine of which are doubles and three are home runs. Her sister Amber (.282) leads the team in stolen bases with 11 on 12 tries and boasts 24 hits including seven doubles, four triples and two home runs. The two are also tied for the lead in total bases with 45.
Kelley Dillon is second on the team with a.324 batting average with 12 runs on 24 hits while Amanda Lonergan boasts a .310 average with five doubles, two triples and three home runs.
Leading in the circle for the Cougars are Alexa Datko and Terri Mesko. Datko currently holds the team's lowest ERA (2.37) and boasts a 3-7 record. She has pitched seven complete games including two shutouts and has struck out 48 batters in 68 innings of play. Mesko (4-6) boasts a 2.70 ERA, pitching six complete games and one shutout. She leads the team in strikeouts with 56 in 62.1 innings of play.
The first pitch of Friday's doubleheader will be a 2 p.m. CT followed by the second game approximately 30 minutes after the conclusion of the first. Saturday's series closer will begin at 12 p.m. A full recap and stats will be available on www.samfordsports.coma upon the completion of each day's action.
