GAME NOTES
SOCON TOURNAMENT BRACKET
SOCON TOURNAMENT CENTRAL
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. – The fourth-seeded Samford softball team will open play in the Southern Conference Tournament by taking on fifth-seeded Mercer Wednesday at 9 a.m. (CT) at Chattanooga's Frost Stadium.
Samford will be looking to repeat as SoCon Tournament champions. In 2016, the Bulldogs earned the program's first SoCon Tournament title and first NCAA Tournament appearance, by going 3-0 in the event. Samford has an all-time record of 13-12 in SoCon Tournament games.
The winner of the Samford-Mercer game will take on top-seeded UNCG Thursday at 11:30 a.m. (CT). The loser of Wednesday's game will play an elimination game Thursday at 7 p.m. (CT). The championship game is scheduled for Saturday at 12 p.m. (CT). For a full tournament bracket, click here:
SOCON TOURNAMENT BRACKET.
Samford enters the tournament with a record of 22-34 overall and 10-8 in Southern Conference play. The Bulldogs dropped two-of-three games at Western Carolina over the weekend. Samford dropped game one, 5-1, before coming back to take game two, 7-4. The Bulldogs fell in the final game by a score of 8-6.
Samford had three players named first team All-SoCon, and one named to the all-freshman team Tuesday morning. Center fielder
Shelby Maze, catcher
Abby Sweeney and utility player
Madison Couch were all named first team All-SoCon. Infielder
Whitney Hinton was named to the SoCon's all-freshman team.
Maze leads the Southern Conference with an impressive .421 batting average. She currently leads the nation in hits with 83 so far this season. Maze also leads the SoCon in triples (5), and she ranks second in the league in total bases (98), third in runs scored (40) and fourth in stolen bases (19) and on-base percentage (.455).
Sweeney finished the regular season with a .340 batting average. She ranks third in the SoCon in total bases (90), fifth in RBI (35) and slugging percentage (.566), and sixth in home runs (8), hits (54) and on-base percentage (.431).
Couch, who has spent time at third base, shortstop and right field, hit .301 this season with three home runs and 14 RBI. She ranks fifth in Southern Conference in runs scored (34), and she ranks seventh in the league in hits (52).
Hinton hit .238 with eight doubles, seven home runs and 20 RBI in her first season in a Samford uniform. She has a .411 slugging percentage for the season. In conference games, she hit .254 for the Bulldogs.
Mercer is currently 24-29 overall and 9-9 in league games. The Bears defeated Alabama State, 7-2 on May 3 in Macon, Ga. Samford defeated Mercer in two-of-three games in the regular season series played at the Samford Softball Stadium.
Samford has a combined all-time record of 106-118 against the tournament field. The Bulldogs are 35-27 all-time against first-round opponent Mercer. Samford is 16-16 all-time against UNCG (1-2 this year), 20-24 against Furman (1-2 this year), 8-2 against ETSU (2-1 this year), 14-15 against Western Carolina (1-2 this year) and 13-34 against Chattanooga (3-0 this year).
Tournament games played Wednesday through Friday will be broadcast on the SoCon Digital Network. Saturday's championship round can be seen on ESPN3. For more information on the tournament, click here:
SOCON TOURNAMENT CENTRAL. To follow Wednesday's game, click on the links below.
LIVE STATS
SOCON DIGITAL NETWORK
