FULL GAME NOTES (PDF)

SOFTBALL HEADS TO BATON ROUGE FOR LSU DOUBLEHEADER
Samford will get a weekend off from SoCon play, facing a formidable SEC opponent in LSU on Saturday, March 30 in Baton Rouge, La.  First pitch of game one of the doubleheader is scheduled for 1 p.m. CT.

OPPONENT SCOUTING REPORT
LSU (28-7, 7-2 SEC) - The Tigers are an impressive 28-6 this season, winning all three of its SEC series so far including a sweep of 17th-ranked Kentucky.  A game-three win over Mississippi State on March 10 started a nine-game win streak that was snapped by South Carolina in game two of last weekend's series.  LSU is coming off a tough non-conference loss, falling 12-5 to #25 South Alabama in Mobile Wednesday night.  The loss dropped the team batting average just under .300, as they now sit at .297 led by three .300 hitters in Jacee Blades (.380/.404/.435), A.J. Andrews (.325/.391/.408) and Bianka Bell (.323/.436/.604).  Bell is the power hitter among the three with a team-leading eight home runs and 26 RBI while Blades is the team's top hitter with 41 hits in 108 at-bats.  Junior Meghan Patterson (5-2) leads a formidable bullpen with a 1.72 ERA in 61.0 innings over 12 appearances while senior Rachel Fico (16-5, 1.92 ERA) has been their workhorse with 131.0 of the team's 242.2 innings.

ALL-TIME VERSUS LSU
Samford and LSU have only faced off once in school history as the Tigers defeated the Bulldogs, 7-3, in 1997.  Among current SEC softball schools, Georgia is the only school Samford has never faced.  Samford has faced three SEC opponents so far this season, falling in all three, while LSU swept a doubleheader against Georgia Southern.

FIRST TIME FOR EVERYTHING
Sophomore Rachel Bickert's solo home run in Tuesday's game against Jacksonville State was the first of her Samford career.  She is the third Bulldog so far this season to launch their first career long ball.  Callie Brister remains the only Samford freshman to hit a home run so far this season, with her first career homer coming in the March 1 victory over Nicholls State.  Senior Casey Clark, in her second season at Samford, hit a solo home run in the shutout victory over UNCG on March 10, the first of her Bulldog career.

DOWDY LIMITING THE K'S
In the latest batch of NCAA rankings, released prior to Tuesday's game, Samford freshman Megan Dowdy is among the top 100 players in the country in strikeout percentage.  Prior to the Jacksonville State game, Dowdy had only four strikeouts in 75 at-bats, ranking her 75th overall.  Furman's Sieara Bishop (57th) and Elon's Tomeka Watson (30th) are the only two SoCon players that rank higher than Dowdy.  Her strikeout in Tuesday's game against Jacksonville State was her first in 40 at-bats.

SCHEDULE CHANGE: GEORGIA STATE APRIL 18
Samford's road game on Thursday, April 18 at Georgia State will now be a doubleheader beginning at 4 p.m. ET instead of a single game.

LATE RALLY FALLS SHORT AT 'DOGS FALL, 7-6, TO JSU
Samford softball dropped a tough loss Tuesday to Jacksonville State as the Gamecocks overcame a four-run lead and held off a Bulldog rally in the seventh with Samford ultimately falling, 7-6.
 
Samford (10-18) built an early 4-0 lead thanks to a four-run second inning spurred by a leadoff home run by Rachel Bickert, her first career long ball at Samford.  Bickert had a great day at the plate, going 3-4 with Alex Adams and Shelby Scott each driving in a pair of runs as well.  Misha Aldridge (2-2) threw 6.0 shutout innings before allowing five earned runs in the top of the seventh, taking the tough loss in the circle.
 
Jacksonville State (18-14) was relatively quiet offensively until the big seventh inning, including a grand slam by Krystal Ruth.  Kalee Tabor went 2-3 as their only player to earn more than one hit while reliever Savanna Hennings (2-0) held on in the seventh inning to narrowly earn her second win of the season.

SATURDAY WEATHER OUTLOOK
Saturday, March 30 - Baton Rouge, La.
High 76, Low 57
Partly Cloudy, 20% Chance of Rain

UP NEXT
Samford resumes conference play, hosting the College of Charleston in a three-game series beginning on Saturday, April 6 with a 1 p.m. doubleheader.  Game three will be Sunday, April 7 at 1 p.m.