BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The Samford University softball team avoided the rain and the sweep with a 2-0 victory to close out the series against Mercer University on Sunday, April 19, for Senior Day.

The Bulldogs (28-19, 9-6 SoCon) took the lead for the first time in the series in the initial inning of play against the Bears (31-17, 7-4 SoCon) when sophomore Abby Sweeney brought home freshman Shelby Maze on an RBI single.

Maze ended the game perfect at the plate going 3-for-3 while Sweeney's single was her only hit of the game.

Redshirt junior Mollie Hanson (16-9) commanded the circle and helped herself by making key defensive plays. Probably the most important defensive play of the game came when Hanson struck out Emma Andrew swinging on a pitch in the dirt with the bases loaded then sprinted to cover home to get the third out on Taylor Rodgers.

Hanson pitched a complete-game shutout with four strikeouts and only one walk while scattering eight Mercer hits on 110 pitches.

The Bulldogs gained a little breathing room in the bottom of the sixth inning when junior Callie Brister reached on a single to short. The speedy senior Caroline Seay came in to pinch run for Brister with one out on the board and junior Caroline Wilder at the plate.

Wilder who was 0-for-2 at the plate delivered a rocked to the gap in the right center that scored Seay all the way from first and give Samford the deciding 2-0 victory. Wilder ended the game 1-for-3 at the plate with an RBI.

The Bulldogs tallied nine total hits in the contest off of Kirsten Stevens (20-7) with Megan Dowdy, Caitlin Bice and Lexie Higgins all each recording a hit in the game.

Samford's next scheduled contest is a doubleheader against Middle Tennessee State University on Thursday, April 23, at 1 and 3 p.m. The doubleheader will wrap up the Bulldogs home schedule for the 2015 regular season.