2017 SOFTBALL FACT BOOK

VIDEO PREVIEW

RUSTON, La. – The Samford softball team will open the 2017 season this weekend at the Louisiana Tech Invitational in Ruston, La.
 
Samford will open play in the tournament by taking on North Dakota Friday at 9 a.m., followed by a matchup with Arkansas-Pine Bluff at 11 a.m. On Saturday, Samford will play Missouri State at 3 p.m., and Incarnate Word at 7 p.m. On Sunday's final day of competition, Samford will take on the host team, Louisiana Tech at 1 p.m.
 
"We're really excited to start at La. Tech this weekend," Samford head coach Mandy Burford said. "We'll try to get a lot of different players some playing time, at probably a lot of different positions. I'm very interested to see who emerges on the mound and who fills certain holes in the lineup."
 
Samford is looking to build on the most successful season in program history. The Bulldogs won a school-record 40 games last season and won the program's first Southern Conference Tournament title and earned its first NCAA Tournament bid.
 
"Getting a taste of what it feels like to win a championship is great," senior infielder Abbie Miranda said. "But, this is a new year and a new team and it definitely has fueled that fire. We have a lot of young athletes, but we're ready to go, it's going to be fun."
 
In the recently released preseason SoCon polls, Samford was picked to finish second, behind Furman. Samford also had four players named first team preseason All-SoCon, and two players named second team preseason All-SoCon.
 
Samford's first-team members were catcher Hannah Trombley, shortstop Lexie Higgins, outfielder Shelby Maze and utility player Abby Sweeney. Samford's second-team honorees were pitcher Jessica Stone and second baseman Abbie Miranda.
 
"We're very excited," Miranda said. "We've had a lot of scrimmages and things like that. We've been doing some in-game stuff in practices, but it's definitely exciting. This season started when regionals ended last year, so we've been waiting for this moment for a long time."
 
Samford returns eight letterwinners and six starters from last season's team. The 18-player 2017 roster also includes five freshmen, including four true freshmen, and five sophomores.
 
"I've been very impressed so far with the play of our freshman sophomore classes," Burford said. "We have a lot of talent, I'm just anxious to see how we do playing against someone other than ourselves."
 
Below are links to live stats for each of Samford's games in the tournament. The game against Louisiana Tech will also be available via live stream at the following link: LIVE STREAM: SAMFORD VS. LOUISIANA TECH.
 
SAMFORD VS. NORTH DAKOTA

SAMFORD VS. ARKANSAS-PINE BLUFF
 
SAMFORD VS. MISSOURI STATE
 
SAMFORD VS. INCARNATE WORD

 SAMFORD VS. LOUISIANA TECH