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BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The Samford softball team earned a 6-3 come-from-behind Southern Conference victory over the Mercer Bears Sunday afternoon at the Samford Softball Stadium.
With the win, Samford wins the series, two games to one. The game was also Senior Day for Samford. Seniors Grey Adams, Rebecca Leonard, Abbie Miranda, Jessica Stone and Abby Sweeney were honored prior to the game in Senior Day ceremonies.
"I thought this was a great team win," Samford head coach Mandy Burford said. "It's kind of sad with Senior Day and the last conference home weekend, but I was really proud of them for their effort today."
One of the seniors, Adams (10-11) earned the win in the circle for Samford. She pitched the complete 7.0 innings, giving up three runs on six hits.
"She got ahead in the count and didn't miss once she got ahead, and that was key today," Burford said of Adams. "After that hiccup in the second inning, once she worked ahead, she allowed us to work and threw some really good pitches."
Samford was led at the plate by freshman Whitney Hinton, going 2-for-3 with two home runs and three RBI. Sophomore Hannah Trombley went 2-for-3 with two RBI. Miranda also drove in a run with a triple in a 1-for-3 performance.
For Mercer, Caroline Taylor went 2-for-3 with a home run and one RBI. Taylor Rodgers also homered, driving in two runs in a 1-for-2 performance at the plate. Stella Preston (5-8) pitched 4.0 innings, giving up four runs on six hits to take the loss in the circle for the Bears.
Samford jumped out to an early lead with two runs in the bottom of the first inning. Shelby Maze led the inning off with a bunt single. Hinton then hit her first homer of the day to left field to give Samford a 2-0 advantage.
Mercer answered with three runs in the top of the second inning to take a 3-2 lead. Rodgers hit a two-run home run to left field to tie the game. Taylor then hit a solo home run to left field to give Mercer the lead.
Samford came back to take the lead for good with two runs in the bottom of the fourth inning. Miranda tripled to center field to drive in Sweeney with the tying run. Trombley then singled up the middle to drive in Miranda for a 4-3 Samford lead.
In the fifth inning, Hinton hit a solo home run to left field to make the score 5-3. Samford added a run in the sixth inning when Trombley singled up the middle to drive in Madison Couch to push Samford's lead to 6-3.
With the win, Samford improves to 21-29 overall and 9-6 in Southern Conference play. Mercer falls to 21-28 overall and 7-8 in league games.
Samford will host Alabama Tuesday evening in the team's final home game of the 2017 season. The game is scheduled for a 6 p.m. start from the Samford Softball Stadium.
