GAME NOTES
TOURNAMENT CENTRAL
GREENSBORO, N.C.— The fifth-seeded Samford softball team will open Southern Conference play by taking on fourth-seeded Chattanooga Wednesday at 9 a.m. (CT) at the UNCG Softball Stadium.
The winner of the Samford-Chattanooga game will take on top-seeded UNCG Thursday at 11:30 a.m. (CT). The loser of Wednesday's contest will play an elimination game Thursday evening at 7 p.m. (CT).
Samford enters the tournament with a record of 18-36 overall and 7-9 in SoCon play. The Bulldogs dropped two-of-three games to regular-season champion UNCG last weekend. After dropping the first two games by scores of 5-3 and 9-2, Samford earned a 6-5 walk-off win in the series finale.
For Samford this season, senior center fielder
Shelby Maze, who was named the SoCon Player of the Year, leads the team with a .410 batting average with four doubles, four triples, 13 RBI and a team-high 37 runs scored.
Ashlyn Barnes, a second-team All-SoCon honoree, is hitting .295 with two doubles, two triples and 17 RBI.
Kelsey Royalty is hitting .288 with 10 doubles, two home runs and 20 RBI.
Lexie Higgins leads the team in home runs with eight, while
Hannah Trombley is the team leader in RBI with 29.
In the circle,
McKenna Gillespie has a team-best 4.40 ERA, to go along with her 3-11 record.
Taylor DeCelles leads the team in wins with an 8-12 record and a 5.64 ERA, while
Annalyn Yantis has a mark of 4-12, to go along with her 5.09 ERA.
Emily Barnett has a record of 3-1 and an ERA of 8.15.
Chattanooga is currently 25-28 overall and 9-7 in SoCon play. The Mocs were swept in a doubleheader by Auburn Sunday, losing by scores of 7-0 and 9-0.
Samford and Chattanooga have met 51 previous times, with Chattanooga holding a 36-15 advantage in the series. In the regular-season series this season, Chattanooga won two-of-three games. Samford took the first game, 15-2, but Chattanooga came back to win games two and three by scores of 11-6 and 9-6.
Samford has an all-time record of 16-14 in Southern Conference Tournament games. Last season, the Bulldogs went 3-2 in the tournament, reaching the championship round for a second-straight season. Samford won the tournament in 2016, posting a 3-0 record in the event.
Live stats and live video for all games can be found at the Tournament Central page by clicking the following link: SOCON TOURNAMENT CENTRAL. All games can be seen on the SoCon Digital Network, except for Saturday's title game, which will air on ESPN+.
