Feb. 18, 2011

Box Score

TROY, Ala. ---- The Samford softball team split a pair of games Friday in the first day of the Quality Inn Classic hosted by Troy University. The Bulldogs defeated Central Arkansas, 1-0, in the tournament opener before falling to Bradley, 10-2, in the nightcap.

Against Central Arkansas, Julianne Surane made her collegiate debut at second base. She also led the Bulldogs, going 2-for-3 at the plate with an RBI. Aaren Fisher plated the winning run for the Bulldogs while Alex Adams had 13 putouts to lead Samford's defense.

Nicole Bobrowski got the start and the win for the Bulldogs in the circle, pitching a complete eight-inning game. She gave up just three hits and recorded three strikeouts.

Three UCA players had a hit each, including Nicole Beals, Melanie Bryant and Melissa Bryant. Kelsie Armstrong pitched 7.1 innings, giving up just one run on two hits. She struck out five batters and walked five.

The Bulldogs and Bears played an eight-inning game in an hour and half. Samford left just five runners on base while UCA left three. After seven and a half fairly quick, scoreless inning, Samford plated the winning run in the bottom of the eighth inning.

Because of the international tie-breaker rule, Fisher started the inning at second base. She advanced to third on a sacrifice bunt by Reynolds before scoring on a single through the right side by Surane.

In the second game, Bradley struck first, scoring right out of the gate in the first inning. The Braves tacked on four more in the third inning to take a 5-0 lead before adding four in the fourth to extend the lead to 9-0. Bradley added another run in the top of the fifth before Samford could plate its first run.

The Bulldogs made it a 10-2 game in the bottom of the fifth with a double by Lakan Smith to bring home Whitney Terry and Allison Reynolds but with an eight-run lead, Bradley would walk away with the win.

Three Bulldogs - Smith, Terry and Reynolds - had hits for Samford in the nightcap against the Braves. Kayla Burris pitched 3.1 innings, giving up four earned runs on five hits and striking out three batters. Emily Waters pitched the final 1.2 innings, striking out two batters and giving up one earned run on three hits.

Jackie Roth led the Braves at the plate going 3-for-3 while Kate Singler went 2-for-3 with a run and three RBI. Brittany Fairbairn, Alex Chandler and Brianne Joseph each posted a hit. Fairbairn also had three runs, while Chandler and Joseph scored two runs each. Fairbairn, Madeline Lynch-Crumrine and Denise Jilka each had an RBI.

Mackenzie Camp pitched a complete game for the Braves. She had a no-hitter until Reynolds got a hit to lead off the fifth inning. She gave up two runs on three hits and struck out three batters.

Samford will start play at 9:30 a.m., Saturday morning against North Florida before taking on Troy at 3 p.m., to round out play in the tournament. Fans can follow all the action via live stats which can be accessed through links at the Samford softball schedule page at www.samfordsports.com. Video can also be accessed through links at the Troy softball schedule page at www.troytrojans.com. Stats will be available at www.samfordsports.com at the end of each game while a recap will be posted upon the completion of both games.