RUSTON, La. – The Samford softball team jumped out to an early lead, but could not hold on as the Bulldogs dropped a 9-3 decision at Louisiana Tech on the final day of the Louisiana Tech Invitational Sunday afternoon.
Samford falls to 1-4 with the loss. Louisiana Tech improves to 5-0 with the victory.
"The win-loss column doesn't reflect the potential this team possesses," Samford head coach
Mandy Burford said. "We knew going into the weekend that we had some tough opponents, and the objective was to win, but also to learn from our mistakes. While we didn't win four of the games, I am pleased with the progress this young, but very talented group made in these five games."
For Samford in the loss,
Hannah Trombley went 2-for-3 with a double and three RBI.
Taylor DeCelles (1-1) pitched 4.1 innings, giving up five runs on seven hits to take the loss in the circle for Samford.
Grey Adams pitched the final 1.2 innings for the Bulldogs.
At the conclusion of the tournament, an All-Tournament team was named, and
Abbie Miranda was Samford's representative on the squad. In five games in the event, Miranda collected six hits, including a double and a home run, and drove in a team-high eight runs.
In Sunday's game, Louisiana Tech was led at the plate by Ali Galaz, going 2-for-3 with a home run and one RBI. Taria Page drove in three runs for Louisiana Tech, while Morgan Turkoly drove in two. Krystal De La Cruz (2-0) earned the win, tossing 4.2 hitless innings of relief.
Samford plated three runs in the top of the first inning to grab an early advantage.
Madison Couch singled through the left side the infield to lead off the inning. With one out,
Abby Sweeney singled to right field, moving Couch to second base. Miranda was then hit by a pitch to load the bases. Trombley then doubled to right-center field, clearing the bases for a 3-0 Samford lead.
The score remained the same until the bottom of the fourth inning when Louisiana Tech plated two runs to cut the Samford lead to 3-2. Galaz hit a solo home run for the first run of the inning. The second run was scored on a single by Katie Smith, driving in Marilyn Rizzato.
Louisiana Tech took the lead for good with five runs in the bottom of the fifth inning. Page drove in three runs in the inning, while Turkoly and Rizzato drove in one run each to give Louisiana Tech a 7-3 lead.
In the sixth inning, Louisiana Tech added two final runs to make the final score 9-3. Berkley Calapp scored the first run of the inning on a Samford error. The game's final run scored when Turkoly reached base on another Samford error, allowing Tori Charters to score.
Samford will return to action on Friday, Feb. 17, when the Bulldogs open play in the Troy University Tournament. On Friday's opening day, Samford will take on Jacksonville (10 a.m.) and Longwood (12:30 p.m.).
LOUISIANA TECH ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM
Katie Smith, LA Tech (Co-MVP)
Krystal De La Cruz, LA Tech (Co-MVP)
Morgan Turkoly, LA Tech
Preslee Gallaway, LA Tech
Angel Love, UND
Kaylin VanDomelen, UND
Taylor Nadler, UND
Mary Stephens, Missouri State
Kaitlin Beason, Missouri State
Ramirez, Incarnate Word
Sarah Leal, Incarnate Word
Paige Garcia, UAPB
Abbie Miranda, Samford
