Feb. 18, 2012

Samford vs. Lipscomb Box Score
Samford vs. Butler Box Score

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. ---- Samford softball split its two games Saturday to kick off the Lipscomb Invitational, as they fell, 5-2, to Lipscomb in game one and bounced back for a 4-3 win over Butler in the second game.

The Samford (3-4) offense was led by Kayla Shaffer, going 3-8 combined in both games, while Rachel Bickert, Madison Dickey and Abby Adams each had two hits on the day. Both of Adams' hits were extra-base hits, as she hit an RBI double against Lipscomb and a solo homer against Butler.

Game One: Lipscomb 5 (3-3), Samford 2 (2-4)

Samford took an early lead in the game against Lipscomb, but was unable to bounce back after the Lady Bison tied and eventually took the lead. Samford's conference-leading defense committed a season-high three errors, as two of Lipscomb's five runs were unearned. Offensively, five of Samford's nine position starters tallied a hit, totaling for seven with only one inning where they went down 1-2-3. Misha Aldridge takes another tough loss on the mound to move her record to 1-4 this season, pitching her fifth complete game while allowing three earned runs on seven hits.

For Lipscomb, pitcher Whitney Kiihnl earned the win and they were led offensively by Caroline Mason, going 1-2 with a walk and two RBI.

The Bulldogs didn't waste any time putting runs on the board, jumping ahead to a 2-0 lead in the top of the first. With two out and Shaffer on second, Adams roped a double into center field to bring in Shaffer. A walk to Robyn Harmon put two on with two out and Bickert brought Adams home with a single to second base.

Aldridge only allowed one hit through the first three innings, but Lipscomb cut the Samford lead in half with a solo home run by second baseman Kelsey Cartwright to lead off the bottom of the fourth inning. Three batters later, Gracey Aguirre batted in Mason from second with one out with an RBI single, though Aguirre was tagged out trying to advance to second on the play. The two scores would tie the game up at 2-2 through four innings.

The Lady Bison would tack on three more runs in the bottom of the fifth, extending their lead to 5-2. Rena' Cothron hit a single to the short stop, driving in the runner from second. She would advance to second on an error by Adams at first, putting runners at second and third with one out. Two batters later, Mason would bring both runners home with a two-run single to right, though both runners would only count as unearned runs. Samford would put runners on second and third with only one out in the top of the sixth, but Lipscomb would pitch out of it, as the 5-2 score proved final.

Game Two: Samford 4 (3-4), Butler 3 (0-2)

A seventh-inning rally by Samford would give them the narrow 4-3 decision over Butler in a battle of the Bulldogs. Starting pitcher Robyn Harmon pitched 5.0 innings and gave up seven hits but would only let two runs in, improving her season record to 2-0. The Samford offense was led by junior centerfielder Kayla Shaffer, who hit 2-4 in the leadoff spot with a double and two RBI.

Leah Bry takes the loss on the mound for Butler, her first of the season, while their offense was led by Lauren McNulty, going 4-2 with two RBI.

The teams would split runs in the first inning, as Adams blasted a solo home run to left center in the top of the inning and Butler's McNulty would bring one home on a double in the bottom half of the inning.

Butler would take the lead in the bottom of the fifth, as McNulty would earn her second RBI of the game, knocking a solo home run to left field to put Butler up, 2-1.

With their backs against the wall, Samford refused to let another seventh inning rally fall short. A leadoff single by Shelby Scott and another by Bickert, followed by a walk to Nicole Bobrowski would load the bases up with nobody out. Two batters later, Shaffer would hit a clutch two-run single into right field, putting runners at the corners with one out and giving Samford the 3-2 lead. Dickey would extend the lead even further with a single to left center, bringing Bobrowski home and moving Shaffer to second, making the score 4-2.

It looked like Butler was poised to make the comeback in the final frame, as the leadoff batter was put on base and then Jessica Huey would hit a long double to drive the run home and narrow Samford's lead to only one run. Harmon, re-inserted in the seventh inning, would pitch Samford out of the threat however as a fly ball, strikeout and a groundout would end the game, 4-3, in Samford's favor.

Samford resumes play Sunday in Nashville, as they play Lipscomb at 11 a.m., followed by Butler at 3:30 p.m.