March 20, 2011

Box Score

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. ---- A walk-off double by Robyn Harmon lifted Samford softball over Furman Sunday to give the Bulldogs their first Southern Conference series win of the season. It was a battle of the bats on Sunday as Samford took the rubber-game win from Furman, 7-6. The Bulldogs improve to 5-22 overall and 2-4 in league play while Furman falls to 10-14 overall and 2-4 in the SoCon.

The Bulldogs scored their first run in the bottom of the first on a sacrifice fly by Harmon to bring in Kayla Shaffer from third. Then, two home runs in the bottom of the second gave the Bulldogs a 4-0 lead with a lead-off bomb over the center field wall by Amanda Jordan and a two-run homer by Allison Reynolds down the left field line.

The Paladins cut the Samford lead to one in the top of the third inning. With one out and two runners on, Morgan Hughey hit a deep single to left field. The throw from the outfield to third base would have been on time to tag Jessie Homesley rounding third, but it sailed over the third baseman's head and into the dugout. Therefore, Homesley and Lauren Collier scored while Hughey advanced to second base. Stephanie Spain followed with a single to advanced Hughey to third and a sacrifice fly by Alex Bimonte drove in the run to make it a 4-3 ballgame.

Samford was not ready to give up the lead though, as Jordan ripped another lead-off home run to left center to start the bottom of the fourth inning. Furman tied the game in the top of the sixth with a sacrifice fly by Homesley and an RBI single by Hughey, but a two-run double by Harmon in the bottom of the seventh scored Shaffer and Brianna Chambers and sealed the win for the Bulldogs.

"It was great to get our first series win," Samford head coach Stephanie VanBrakle said. "I thought that we showed a lot of fight today and came back when we needed to. I thought AJ had a big day and I thought KB pitched well enough for us to win, and we found a way to win."

Jordan led the Bulldogs at the plate, going 2-for-3 with two runs and two RBI. The home runs were her third and fourth of the season and the seventh and eighth of her career. Regan Bates was also 3-for-3 with a run while Harmon went 2-for-3 with three RBI. Shaffer posted a 1-for-4 performance at the plate, scoring two runs, while Reynolds was 1-for-3 with a run and two RBI. Reynolds' home run was her first of the season.

Kayla Burris started the game for the Bulldogs and pitched five innings, giving up two earned runs on 13 hits with two strikeouts and a walk. Emily Waters came on in relief for 1.2 innings, giving up one run on three hits with a strikeout and a walk. Nicole Bobrowski (2-4) earned the win, recording one strikeout in one-third of an inning of work.

Field led the Paladins at the plate, going 3-for-5 with a run and an RBI while Spain followed with a 3-for-4 performance. Collier and Hughey each went 2-for-4, scoring a run each while Hughey also had an RBI. Katie Michaels was 1-for-4 with a run and Emily Boyer was 1-for-3. Nikki Legg also went 2-for-3 with a run while Bimonte recorded an RBI.

Kayla Suskauer started in the circle for Furman, giving up four earned runs on seven hits in 4.1 innings of play. Collier (5-10) took the loss, giving up two runs on five hits in 1.2 innings of play.

The Bulldogs are back in action next weekend as they continue their 11-game homestand. Samford will play host to Western Carolina and Saturday will be "Whitney Terry Day."