Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 BIRMINGHAM, Ala. ---- On Senior Day with tournament seeding implications on the line, Samford came out and got a solid 5-3 win over Furman in game one before the Paladins bounced back to win game two, 6-1.
 
Samford (14-32, 6-14 SoCon) and Furman (26-25, 9-11 SoCon) were both hot offensively, combining for 31 hits with the Bulldogs holding the slight 16-15 edge.  Key sixth-inning runs by both teams made the difference in each game.  Five different Bulldogs would earn at least one hit in each game with senior Misha Aldridge leading the charge on Senior Day, going a combined 3-5 including a home run and a double with four RBI.
 
GAME ONE: SAMFORD 5, FURMAN 3
 
A three-run sixth inning ultimately  made the difference in the opening game of the series, as the Bulldogs held off a Furman rally in the seventh to earn a 5-3 victory.  Abby Adams and Aldridge each earned a pair of hits in the game batting in the bottom of the order while Shelby Scott (5-13) pitched the full 7.0 innings to win her fifth game of the season.  For the Paladins, starter Lauren Collier (13-11) took the loss while Stephanie Field drove in two of their three runs.
 
Samford fired the opening shots in the bottom of the second as Aldridge drove in a pair off a double to the left-field gap.  Samford eventually loaded the bases with only one out but a flyout and strikeout limited the lead to 2-0.  In the top of the third, Furman looked to tie it off a double by Field as the lead runner scored but the trailing runner was tagged out at home off a good cutoff throw by Abby Adams.  Collier would drive home Field in the next at-bat however to tie the game at 2-2.  A walk and single would load the bases but a popup to Rachel Bickert at first would limit the damage as the teams were still tied.
 
The game would remain tied until the bottom of the sixth.  Callie Brister led off the inning with a single and Alex Adams followed with a walk.  Following a strikeout, Bickert would poke a double into the right-field gap to score Brister and move Adams to third, giving the Bulldogs a 3-2 lead.  Aldridge would advance them both off a single into right field, pushing Samford up 4-2 and ending the day for Collier in then circle as Meaghan Houston entered in relief.  Abby Adams welcomed Houston to the game by reaching off an infield single back at the circle, scoring Bickert and moving Aldridge to second.  A single by Caroline Seay would load the bases but a groundout and strikeout would end the rally with Samford holding a 5-2 lead heading into the top of the seventh.
 
Scott struck out the leadoff batter in the seventh but Field looked to start a comeback with a one-out solo homer to straightaway center, cutting the Samford lead to 5-3.  After a groundout, Furman would get a two-out double but Megan Dowdy tracked down a ball in foul territory to end it as Samford earned its sixth SoCon win this season.
 
GAME TWO: FURMAN 6, SAMFORD 1
 
One swing off of Ambree Muller's bat turned the tide in game two, as her sixth-inning grand slam helped propel the Paladins to a 6-1 victory in game two to even the series.  Missed opportunities haunted the Bulldogs as they left six runners on base, only scoring one run off seven hits.  Offensively, Dowdy earned her second three-hit performance of the season while Aldridge drove in the Bulldogs' lone run of the game off a solo home run.  Scott (5-14) took the loss in the circle while Shelby Parker (5-7) threw 105 pitches in 7.0 innings to earn the win.
 
Samford was again the first team to score in game two, as Aldridge lifted a high home run over the left-field fence to put the Bulldogs up 1-0.  Aldridge would hold the slim lead until the top of the fifth as Sarah Eidt evened the score with her own solo homer.
 
Scott entered to pitch for Samford in the top of the sixth and was in a troublesome spot early.  A single, double and walk would load the bases for Furman with nobody out and Muller would come through with the huge at-bat, clearing the bases with a grand slam as the visitors now led, 5-1.  Aldridge re-entered to pitch but the Paladins continued to cause problems, eventually loading the bases again with one out.  An infield single would add to their lead but a strikeout and groundout would stop the bleeding with the Bulldogs now trailing, 6-1.
 
Samford would get a hit in each of the remaining two innings but could not climb out of the five-run hole as Furman held on to win, 6-1.
 
Saturday was Senior Day at Samford Softball Field, as the Bulldogs honored Alex Adams, Misha Aldridge, Madeline Baker, Casey Clark and Kayla Shaffer in a pre-game ceremony.
 
The series rubber match, originally scheduled for a 1 p.m. start on Sunday, May 5, has been moved up to an 11 a.m. start due to the threat of inclement weather in the afternoon.