March 15, 2011
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. ---- The Samford softball team will begin a ten-game homestand Wednesday with Georgia State followed by a doubleheader with Jacksonville State on Thursday. The two days of action will be the first half of six games in five days for the Bulldogs this week.
The Bulldogs return home after spending the past week on the road. After their final tournament weekend at the Tennessee Tech Combat Classic got washed out, Samford added a doubleheader at Jacksonville State before heading to Mercer for another mid-week doubleheader, and then opening Southern Conference play at Chattanooga last weekend.
Samford looks to snap an eight-game losing streak Wednesday against Georgia State. The Bulldogs are 3-18 on the season so far and 0-3 in SoCon play. Whitney Terry boasts a team-leading .400 batting average while Robyn Harmon, Aaren Fisher and Amanda Jordan each lead the team with 13 hits. Jordan blasted two home runs last weekend at Chattanooga, the first two of the season for her.
Kayla Burris (2-8) leads the Bulldog pitchers in strikeouts with 28 while Emily Waters holds a team-low ERA of 3.82.
Wednesday's matchup at Bulldog Field features Samford and Georgia State in a 4 p.m. meeting. The series with the Panthers is the oldest in program history and GSU leads, 56-12. The two teams met twice in Samford's inaugural season in 1987 and the Panthers won 13 straight before the Bulldogs finally got their first win in 1990. Samford and GSU have not met on the field since 2003 and the Panthers have won seven of the last 10 contests.
The Panthers are out of the Colonial Athletic Association and hold a 10-14 overall record. GSU has won three of its last 10 games with wins over Belmont and Miami (OH) and tough close losses to Georgia Tech and Penn State.
Lauren Jones leads her team in hitting with a .292 batting average and 15 RBI on 21 hits. Of those 21 hits, four have been doubles and four have been home runs. Whitney Phillips follows with a .288 batting average and 17 hits.
Kaitlyn Medlam boasts a 2.22 ERA and a 4-1 record on the season. In 34.2 innings of work, she has recorded 24 strikeouts and allowed just 14 walks while pitching two complete games, one shutout, and earning one save. McCall Langford is the team's strikeout leader with 62 in 66.1 innings of play. She holds an ERA of 2.32 and record of 2-7.
Samford takes on Jacksonville State on Thursday in a doubleheader beginning at 1 p.m. The Bulldogs visited the Gamecocks a week ago, a meeting that ended in two shutouts losses for Samford. Since the Bulldogs last saw the Gamecocks, JSU has won four games including an eight-inning win over Kennesaw State and a conference series sweep of Eastern Kentucky.
Kristin Graham leads the Gamecocks with a .528 batting average and a 1.111 slugging percentage. Graham boasts 17 RBI on 19 hits, three doubles and six home runs. Amanda Crow follows with a .328 batting average and six home runs of her own as well as five doubles.
Savanna Hennings (1-1) leads the JSU pitchers with a 2.10 ERA. Hennings, a reliever for the Gamecocks, boasts 31 strikeouts in 23.1 innings played. Tiffany Harbin (9-4) is JSU's best starter. She boasts a 2.94 ERA and has recorded 75 strikeouts in 69 innings of work.
The Bulldogs' game with Georgia State begins at 4 p.m., and the doubleheader with Jacksonville State starts at 1 p.m. Fans can follow the action for both match-ups via subscription-based video streaming through links at www.samfordsports.com. Visit the Samford home page and click on "Bulldog Big Screen" to access all scheduled video streams. A full recap and statistics will also be posted upon the conclusion of each day's action.
