BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – After playing No. 19 Auburn in the midweek, the Samford softball team returns to Southern Conference play on Saturday as the Bulldog head to Cullowhee, N.C. for a weekend series with the Western Carolina Catamounts. 
   
The three-game weekend series features a doubleheader on Saturday starting a noon CT with the weekend finale slate for noon on Sunday. All three games will be streamed on ESPN+ and Samford's game notes can be found here. 
   
After sweeping Mercer to open Southern Conference play for the second-straight season and falling in the midweek to Auburn, Samford brings a 14-19 record to the Carolinas. 
 
Western Carolina boasts a 10-16 record after being swept by Furman during the opening weekend of SoCon play and splitting a pair of games with Radford in the midweek. 
  
Samford and Western Carolina have met 42 previous times playing to a 21-21 tie all-time. The home team has six-straight meetings in the series. 
   
Reigning SoCon Pitcher of the Week McKenzie Newcomb is once again leading the Bulldog pitching staff as the sophomore ranks 16th nationally with a strikeout-to-walk ratio of 7.71. Newcomb has also accumulated 108 strikeouts which ranks 30th nationally and an ERA of 1.66, good enough for 60th in the country. 
   
 Newcomb leads a pitching staff that ranks 55th in the country with 183 strikeouts on the season. The Bulldog team ERA ranks 99th at 3.00. Bulldog pitchers enter the weekend ranked 30th nationally with a strikeout-to-walk ratio of 3.77.
   
 On the offensive side of things, the power-hitting duo of Logan Champion and Grier Bruce pace the Bulldog offense. Champion has collected a team-best 11 doubles on the season, which ranks 14th nationally. Bruce leads the team with seven home runs and ranks fourth in the SoCon and 83rd nationally. The sophomore duo had a combined 38 at-bats as freshmen in 2022 and in 2023 they have a combined 39 RBIs.
   
 Bruce's seven home runs on the year have already tied Mary Katherine Tedder and Timberlyn Shurbutt's team-leading home run total from last year in 23 fewer games.
   
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