SOFTBALL TO PLAY A PAIR OF MIDWEEK ROAD GAMES
Softball will play a pair of out-of-conference road games during spring break, facing Memphis on Tuesday, March 19 (5 p.m. CT) and Ole Miss on Wednesday, March 20 (6 p.m. CT).

OPPONENT SCOUTING REPORT
Memphis (11-17, 3-3 C-USA) - The Tigers have faced a tough schedule so far in 2013, playing four nationally-ranked opponents including three games against Hawaii and three against Conference-USA foe Tulsa.  On a team that has struggled offensively with a team batting average of .214, senior Morgan Mosby has been their standout, batting .345 (30-87) with two of the team's three home runs and 12 RBI.  Seniors Laura Curtis (21-77, .273) and Lelani Bernardino (21-84, .250) are the team's other members of the 20-hit club while Curtis leads the team with seven doubles.  Junior Ellen Roberts (5-11, 3.36 ERA) has thrown over half of the team's innings with 108.1 innings of work, 91 strikeouts and 10 complete games.

Ole Miss (18-15, 1-5 SEC) - The Rebels have lost six of their last seven games after riding a hot streak to end non-conference play, winning 13 of 14 games during late February and early March.  They are batting .277 as a team with four .300 hitters, led by junior RT Cantillo with a .385 average, 35 hits, five home runs and 22 RBI.  Sophomore Allison Brown is close behind with a .330 average, 33 hits and leads the team with 13 doubles, two triples and 25 RBI.  Five different pitchers have seen time in the circle this season, with juniors Carly Hummel (7-8, 3.77 ERA) and Shelby Jo Fenter (6-6, 3.40 ERA) as the anchors in the rotation.

ALL-TIME VERSUS MEMPHIS AND OLE MISS
Samford and Memphis have met four times, splitting the games with a series record of 2-2.  The teams split a double-header in 2009 and did the same last season.

Samford and Ole Miss have met 11 times, with the Rebels holding the 9-2 edge in the series.  Ole Miss has won the last five meetings in a row, with the Bulldogs' last win coming in 2001.  This will be the first time the teams have met since 2010.

POSITION CHANGE SPURRING BIG AT-BATS FOR ADAMS
Due to multiple injuries on the team, redshirt senior Alex Adams has started the last five games at catcher, her first starts behind the dish since her freshman season.  The switch has coincided with a huge surge at the plate as well, as she is batting .600 (9-15) in those five starts with five RBI, a double and two home runs.  She has already matched her RBI total from the preceeding 17 games this season, starting at first base, and has nearly matched her 10 hits in those starts at first base.

BRISTER AMONG TOP SOCON FRESHMEN
Callie Brister has been a big boost to the lineup as a freshman, playing in all 22 games with 20 starts.  She has the third-highest average on the active roster at .283 and is among the top ten freshmen in the SoCon.  Among SoCon freshmen, she ranks seventh in batting average, seventh in RBI (7), sixth in hits (17), is tied for third in doubles (5) and is tied for second in home runs (3).

SAMFORD FALLS IN THREE GAMES TO APPALACHIAN STATE
In Samford's second SoCon series of the season, the Bulldogs fell in three games to the Appalachian State Mountaineers in Boone, N.C.  Two of the three games were one-run losses, including a tough come-from-behind victory for Appalachian State in the series finale.

Caitlin Bice earned her first career start in the circle in game one, lasting 3.0 innings and giving up three earned runs in a close 3-2 loss.  Misha Aldridge shut out the mountaineers in 3.0 relief innings and Samford started to mount a comeback in the fifth inning, but the rally ultimately fell one run short.

In game two, the Mountaineer bats came alive to the tune of a 9-1 run rule victory in five innings.  Samford bounced back to start game three, moving ahead 5-0 early but the Mountaineers scored seven unanswered runs and a seventh-inning rally again fell one run short for Samford as they ultimately were defeated, 7-6, to complete the sweep.

MIDWEEK WEATHER OUTLOOK
Tuesday, March 19 - Memphis, Tenn.
High: 60 Low: 39, Mostly Sunny

Wednesday, March 20 - Oxford, Miss.
High: 57 Low: 33, Partly Cloudy


UP NEXT
This weekend, Samford will host Western Carolina (8-17, 1-5 SoCon) in a three-game conference series.  Due to continued construction on the Samford Softball Stadium, the three games will be played at UAB Softball Field.

The teams open with a double-header on Saturday, March 23 at 1 p.m. CT and conclude with a single game on Sunday, March 24 at 1 p.m. CT.