March 4, 2011
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. ---- The Samford softball team will travel to Cookeville, Tenn., this weekend to play in the Tennessee Tech Combat Classic Saturday and Sunday. The tournament will be Samford's last of the season before the Bulldogs jump into Southern Conference play next weekend.
Samford will open up play in the Combat Classic on Saturday morning at 10 a.m., against Belmont before taking on Middle Tennessee State at 5 p.m. On Sunday, the Bulldogs will start the day at noon, taking on North Carolina State before rounding out tournament play with Louisville at 4 p.m.
The Bulldogs hold an 8-3 series lead over Belmont, winning five of the last seven meetings. The last time the two teams met was in the fourth game of the 2008 season when Samford took a 5-2 win over the Bruins. Samford also leads the series with Middle Tennessee State, 8-5. The Bulldogs and Blue Raiders have not faced each other since 2005 when Samford split a doubleheader with MTSU, winning the first game (1-0) and falling in the second (5-4) in eight innings.
Samford and North Carolina State will meet for the first time on Saturday while the Bulldogs try to get their first win over Louisville. The Bulldogs and Cardinals have met twice before, once in 2006 and again in 2008, with the Cardinals coming out on top each time.
Samford comes off a 1-3 weekend in the Magic City Classic. The Bulldogs opened the tournament at UAB on Friday night, falling to Lipscomb, 10-0. Samford then opened home play on Saturday at Bulldog Field, splitting a pair of games with Indiana State and Alabama State. Then, the Bulldogs rounded out the weekend with a tough 6-1 loss to Radford on Sunday.
Four Samford players lead the team in production at the plate. Robyn Harmon (.375) is the Bulldogs' top slugger with two doubles, a triple and a home run in six hits. Aaren Fisher (.270) boasts a team-high 10 hits, including two doubles while Alex Adams (.237) has a team-high seven RBI on nine hits. Kayla Shaffer (.167) has five hits on the season including a double and a triple and is a perfect 4-for-4 on stolen base attempts.
Belmont (4-10) comes off a winless weekend at the Auburn War Eagle Classic. The Bruins dropped the tournament opener to host team Auburn, 8-5, on Friday before being shutout in five innings the rest of the weekend by Marshall, Georgia Southern and Murray State.
The Bruins are led by Ashley Byers who leads all starters with a .353 batting average. She boasts seven runs, 12 hits and 13 RBI on the season. Of her 12 hits, four have been doubles and five have been home runs, giving her a .912 slugging percentage. In the circle for the Bruins, Devon Schmidt leads the pack. Schmidt has earned all four of Belmont's wins and boats a 4.41 ERA. In 39.2 innings of work, she has struck out 26 batters and allowed 16 walks.
Middle Tennessee State (4-7) also played in the Auburn War Eagle Classic last weekend. The Blue Raiders went 2-2 on the weekend, defeating Marshall and Murray State before falling to Georgia Southern and Auburn.
Corrie Abel leads the Blue Raiders at the plate with a .415 batting average, 17 hits and eight RBI. Jordy Fisherback leads the pitchers with a 4.45 ERA and a 2-1 record. She has started four games and pitched two complete games, giving up 21 earned runs in 33 innings of play. She has 28 strikeouts on the year.
North Carolina State (7-7) comes off a 1-3 performance at the Carolina Classic last weekend in Chapel Hill, N.C. After winning the weekend opener against Saint Joseph's, the Wolfpack dropped three straight to Saint Joseph's, Florida International and Georgetown.
The Wolfpack is led by Bridget Desbois, Alyssa Allbritten and Alyssa Ishibashi who are not only the three most consistent hitters for N.C. State but the best sluggers. Desbois boasts a team-high batting average of .419 along with 18 hits and 10 RBI. Allbritten averages .372 at the plate with 16 hits, including three doubles and one home run. Ishibashi has a .341 batting average with four doubles, a triple and a home run in 15 hits. She also leads the team in runs scored with 14. Kayla Cox leads the Wolfpack pitching staff with 54 strikeouts in 42 innings of play. She boasts a 6.43 ERA and a 4-3 record, including one shutout.
Louisville (9-6) hosted its Red &Black Tournament last weekend and walked away with a 4-1 record, including shutouts over SIUE, Boston University and Wright State. The only loss of the weekend came in an eight-inning shootout with Miami (Ohio).
Jordan Trimble and Alicja Wolny lead the Cardinals at the plate. Trimble boasts a team-high .410 batting average while Wolny holds a .405 batting average and leads the team with 14 RBI. Chelsea Bemis is UL's top slugger, posting a .703 slugging percentage with seven doubles and two home runs in 13 hits. Tori Collins is the Cardinals' best starter in the circle. She holds a 6-3 record, pitching six complete games, four shutouts and earning one save. She boasts a 3.28 ERA and has recorded 58 strikeouts in 53.1 innings of work.
Box scores will be posted at the conclusion of each of Samford's games at www.samfordsports.com. Fans can also find a recap of all of Samford's action at the end of each day.
