April 25, 2011
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. ---- The Samford softball team will be back home Tuesday to play host to Mississippi Valley State for a midweek single-game matchup. First pitch will be at 4 p.m. at Bulldog Field.
Samford (11-34, 7-11 SoCon) comes off a tough road weekend where it was swept by Appalachian State. The Mountaineers shut out the Bulldogs, 9-0, in the first game, took an 8-4 win in the second game and edged out the Bulldogs, 2-1, in the third game. Samford dropped to seventh place in the Southern Conference standings after this weekend's sweep, but still has a chance to move back up with its remaining league opponents, UNC Greensboro and College of Charleston, sitting ahead of the Bulldogs.
The Bulldogs look to bounce back from the sweep and avoid extending a three-game skid with this game against MVSU Tuesday evening.
Samford and MVSU have only met four times on the diamond. The Bulldogs hold a 3-1 advantage in the all-time series, with the Devilettes getting their first-ever win over the Bulldogs last season. MVSU won, 6-4, last season. The victory margin for either team has never been more than two runs.
Robyn Harmon continues to lead all Bulldog starters in batting with a .297 average at the plate. She hit her fourth home run of the year in game two against the Mountaineers this weekend and she is second on the team behind Amanda Jordan in RBI with 16. Jordan boasts 17 RBI. Harmon also leads the team, along with Kayla Shaffer, in hits with 30. Shaffer also leads the Bulldogs in runs scored with 20 and stolen bases with seven.
Kayla Burris (8-14), Samford's weekend starter for the first and third games, still leads all pitchers with a 4.45 ERA. She boasts 91 strikeouts in 140 innings of work. She has started 23 of Samford's 45 games played and has pitched 16 complete games, including two shutouts.
Emily Waters (0-2), who has made nine appearances in the circle this season, holds the second-best ERA on the team (4.48). Nicole Bobrowski (2-8) follows with a 4.72 ERA. She boasts 26 strikeouts in 69.2 innings of work, and has started nine games. She has also pitched four complete games including one shutout.
A full recap and final statistics will be posted on www.samfordsports.com upon the conclusion of the game. Live video streaming is also scheduled to be available through a subscription basis.
