March 31, 2012

Game One Box Score
Game Two Box Score

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. ---- Samford softball split two games against UNCG Saturday at Bulldog Field, falling 5-3 in game one before bouncing back for a 2-1 game two victory.

Samford (9-26, 3-8 SoCon) was led at the plate by Madison Dickey, going 3-7 at the plate, including her team-leading ninth double of the season. Five other Bulldogs earned two hits Saturday, with Caroline Seay and Julianne Surane each adding a stolen base. The UNCG (13-22, 5-6 SoCon) offense was led by Toni MacReynolds going 2-5 and driving in three of the team's six runs.

Game One: UNCG 5, Samford 3

The first game saw three lead changes, with the Spartans edging out the Bulldogs 5-3 behind a three-run top of the sixth inning. Misha Aldridge (5-13) pitched a complete game, striking out four and allowing only three earned runs, but still taking the loss. Aldridge also accounted for one of Samford's three runs, going 2-4 at the plate. UNCG's Cory Mattson (10-11) earned the win, pitching 5.0 innings with one earned run.

UNCG got on the board first, scoring two in the top of the second. With two outs, a fielding error put a runner on first to extend the inning and Toni MacReynolds followed with a two-run homer, scoring two unearned runs. The Spartans threatened again in the fourth with two runners on, but a spectacular unassisted double play by Abby Adams ended the inning. The freshman shortstop dove towards second, snagging the line drive, and landed with her glove on second to pickoff the runner.

Samford took the lead from the Spartans in the bottom of the fifth, as the Bulldogs manufactured three runs to pull ahead 3-2. Surane led of the inning with a single and immediately stole second to put a runner in scoring position with nobody out. Madison Dickey reached on a fielding error by the second baseman, as Surane scored and Dickey advanced to second. Alex Adams hit a hard single to the shortstop and advanced on a bad putout attempt, which allowed Dickey to come home as well. Adams advanced to third on a groundout and came home off an RBI single to left field by Aldridge, giving Samford the 3-2 edge.

UNCG answered right back in the top of the sixth however, scoring three to pull ahead 5-3. A one-out single with two in scoring position put the Spartans up 4-3 and an RBI single following a fielding error gave them their fifth run of the game to pull ahead 5-3. The Spartans would hold the Bulldogs to only one hit in the remaining two innings as they held on for the two-run win.

Game Two: Samford 2, UNCG 1

Great pitching and defense by Samford was the difference in a low-scoring 2-1 victory in game two. Six of the nine Bulldogs in the starting lineup earned a hit, with Dickey going 2-3 at the plate. Shelby Scott (2-4) pitched a gem of a game to earn the win, allowing only one run off four hits. Erica Navarette (2-8) took the loss in the circle for the Spartans.

The teams were scoreless through three innings until, in the bottom of the fourth, Bickert roped an opposite-field RBI double to right center to score Scott from third and put Samford up 1-0. The Bulldogs added another run in the bottom of the sixth to pull ahead 2-0. Abby Adams led off the inning with a double. A groundout to the shortstop prevented her from advancing, but Seay hit a fly ball to right field that allowed Adams to tag up and advance. The Spartan right fielder made a putout attempt at third but the throw got past the third baseman, which let Adams come home for a run to put Samford up 2-0. UNCG would hit a solo home run in the top of the seventh, but they could not score any more as Samford maintained the lead for the 2-1 victory.

The rubber match in the series is set for Sunday, April 1 at 1p.m. CT.