March 20, 2012

Game One Box Score
Game Two Box Score

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. ---- Samford softball split two games with Memphis Tuesday at Bulldog Field, as Samford fell in game one, 11-4, but rebounded to take the back end of the double-header, 5-0.

Alex Adams led Samford (6-21) in hits, going a combined 4-7 including a grand slam in the second game. Madison Dickey went 1-4 at the plate, bringing in three RBI and scoring two herself. Rachel Bickert and Julianne Surane each earned a pair of runs as well. Memphis (7-23) was led at the plate by Morgan Mosby going 7-9 at the plate.

Game One: Memphis 11, Samford 4

The game was tied heading into the seventh inning and the Memphis offense surged in the top half of the inning, plating seven runs to pull ahead, 11-4, late. Shelby Scott (0-3) took the loss on the mound, as she came in the seventh inning to close the game and put the eventual winning run on base. Memphis' Jordan Richwood (1-6) earned the win, pitching 2.1 innings in relief of starter Ellen Roberts.

Memphis would stretch ahead to a 4-0 lead, scoring one in both the first and second innings and then two more in the fifth. With two out and runners at the corners, Surane hit a clutch single to avoid the shutout and give the Bulldogs their first run. Dickey would bring both runners home with a two-run single, drawing Samford within one run. Adams would push a single up the middle to bring Dickey home and tie the game at 4-4.

The score would remain tied until the top of the seventh, when an error and a walk would put two runners on and a single would bring home the unearned run and put two runners in scoring position. A walk would load the bases and then Memphis' Amber Lindahl would promptly unload the bases, hitting a grand slam to push the Tigers up 9-4. A two-run homer later in the inning would make the score 11-4, which ultimately proved final.

Game Two: Samford 5, Memphis 0

The Bulldogs were not fazed by the lopsided loss in game one, as they bounced back to shutout the Tigers, 5-0, in game two. Misha Aldridge (4-10) pitched a stellar game in the circle, going to full seven innings allowing five hits and striking out six, a season high. Starter Lauren Carley (0-1) took the loss for the Tigers.

The teams were scoreless through two and a half innings, before Dickey put Samford on the board courtesy of a sacrifice fly to left field, bringing home Bickert from third to move Samford up, 1-0. The Bulldogs' big inning came in the bottom of the fifth, as the bases were loaded with one out for Adams. The McDonough, Ga., native came through in a big way, launching a grand slam, her first home run of the season, to put Samford up 5-0. Aldridge would only allow one hit in the remaining two innings, as she shut down the Tiger offense to preserve the shutout in Samford's favor.

Next up, Samford plays a midweek game on the road, traveling to Kennesaw, Ga., to face Kennesaw State on Thursday, March 22 at 5 p.m. CT.