March 27, 2012

Game One Box Score
Game Two Box Score

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. ---- The Samford (8-25) offense struggled to find a rhythm Tuesday night, as the Western Kentucky Lady Toppers (21-12) took two games from the Bulldogs, winning by scores of 11-1 and 5-1.

The Samford offense was limited to only six combined hits in both games, with Arica Dykes and Abby Adams each going 2-5 at the plate. Alex Adams and Madison Dickey accounted for both of Samford's runs, coming off two solo home runs. The Lady Toppers were led by first baseman Ciara Garcia, who went 6-8 including two home runs in game two.

Game One: Western Kentucky 11, Samford 1 (6 Innings)

A seven-run sixth inning for the Lady Toppers gave them a large lead, which they held through the end of the inning to earn the six-inning, 11-1 victory in game one. Western Kentucky starter Mallorie Sulaski (2-1) only allowed two hits through 6.0 innings pitched. Misha Aldridge (5-12) stuck through the entire game in the circle for the Bulldogs, pitching the full 6.0 innings, allowing only four runs on 10 hits before the big sixth inning.

Western Kentucky plated two in the third inning, as an RBI single and a sacrifice fly made the score 2-0, and they tacked on two more in the fifth, courtesy of a two-run double to stretch the lead to 4-0. The top of the sixth was a long inning for the Bulldog defense, as Western Kentucky manufactured seven runs off five hits and an error to extend their lead to 11-0. In the bottom of the sixth, Dickey hit a one-out solo home run to avoid the shutout, but it would be the only run scored in the inning as the Bulldogs took the lopsided loss.

Game Two: Western Kentucky 5, Samford 1

While the Lady Toppers manufactured runs in game one, their runs in game two would come courtesy of the long ball, as two home runs accounted for three of the five runs in their 5-1 victory. The Samford offense struggled again in game two, totaling four hits with the one run coming off an Adams home run. Dykes led the team at the plate, going 2-3 batting in the nine-hole. Emily Rousseau (9-6) earned the win for Western Kentucky while Shelby Scott (1-4) takes the loss for Samford.

Samford would get on the board first, as Adams hit a leadoff home run in the second inning to put the Bulldogs up 1-0. The Lady Toppers would quickly tie it back up in the top of the third, as they answered with their own solo home run to tie the game at 1-1.

After the Lady Toppers sacrificed a runner over in the top of the fifth, Samford starter Scott was taken out of the game with Nicole Bobrowski coming in relief. On her first pitch, Garcia would hit her second home run of the game, a two-run homer that pushed them up 3-1. Western Kentucky added two insurance runs in the top of the seventh, and a 1-2-3 bottom of the seventh for the Bulldogs ended the game with a final score of 5-1.

Samford continues conference play this weekend as they host UNCG for a three-game series, beginning with a double header on Saturday, March 31 starting at 1 p.m.