Softball 4.25.23

Samford Softball Slated To Host Kennesaw State For First Responders Night

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – For the penultimate home game of the 2023 season, the Samford softball team will welcome Kennesaw State to Samford Softball Stadium on Wednesday for First Responders Night.

The midweek contest is scheduled for a 5 p.m. CT first pitch and can be streamed on ESPN+. Samford's game notes can be found here.

First responders from around the Birmingham metro area will be recognized before and during Wednesday's game.

After falling to UAB in the homestand opener, the Bulldogs took two of three from the Furman Paladins over the weekend to enter the midweek contest with a record of 20-27.

The Owls of Kennesaw State come to Birmingham with a 15-30 record after the Owls won the weekend series at home against Lipscomb.

Samford and Kennesaw State have met 16 times in program history with the Owls leading the all-time series 11-5. Owls prevailed 1-0 in nine innings on Feb. 28 in Kennesaw.

McKenzie Newcomb is once again leading the Bulldog pitching staff as the sophomore ranks 10th nationally with a strikeout-to-walk ratio of 7.74. Newcomb has also accumulated 147 strikeouts which ranks 39th nationally and an ERA of 1.99, good enough for tops in the SoCon.

Newcomb leads a pitching staff that ranks 70th in the country with 245 strikeouts on the season. The Bulldog team ERA ranks tops in the SoCon at 2.92. Bulldog pitchers enter the midweek ranked 46th nationally with a strikeout-to-walk ratio of 2.63.

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 14 doubles on the season, which ranks 18th nationally. Bruce leads the team with 11 home runs and ranks second in the SoCon and 62nd nationally. The sophomore duo had a combined 38 at-bats as freshmen in 2022 and in 2023 they have a combined 56 RBIs.
Bruce's 11 home runs on the year are more than Mary Katherine Tedder and Timberlyn Shurbutt's team-leading seven home run total from last year in 17 fewer games. They are also the most by a Bulldog in a season since Whitney Hinton hit 15 in 2019.

With her three home-run performance against WCU, Bruce became the eighth Bulldog in program history with double-digit homers in a season and the first since 2018 to homer three times in a game.

To go along with her 14 doubles, Champion ranks fourth in the county having thrown out 18 runners on the year. The sophomore is the only catcher in the country to rank Top 20 in both doubles and caught stealing by. Champion also has a team-best 52 hits that ranks third in the SoCon.

Heading into the midweek, McKayla Cothran is tied for seventh in the SoCon with nine stolen bases.

Bulldog senior Merritt Cahoon has proven to be one of the hardest people to strike out once every 19.9 ABs, which ranks second in the SoCon and 59th nationally.

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For the latest news and information on Samford softball, visit the official website for Samford Athletics at SamfordSports.com. Fans can also follow the Bulldogs on social media at /SamfordSports (Facebook), @SamfordSB (Twitter), and @SamfordSB (Instagram).

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Players Mentioned

#17 Merritt Cahoon: INF; 5' 7"; Junior; R/R

#8 Timberlyn Shurbutt: INF; 5' 7"; Senior; R/R

#4 Grier Bruce: INF; 5' 8"; Freshman; R/R

#25 Logan Champion: C; 5' 4"; Freshman; R/R

#33 McKayla Cothran: OF; 5' 6"; Freshman; L/R

#24 McKenzie Newcomb: P; 5' 5"; Freshman; R/R

#22 Mary Katherine Tedder: UTL; 5' 8"; Graduate Student; R/R

Players Mentioned

#17 Merritt Cahoon
: 5' 7"; Junior; R/R
: INF

#8 Timberlyn Shurbutt
: 5' 7"; Senior; R/R
: INF

#4 Grier Bruce
: 5' 8"; Freshman; R/R
: INF

#25 Logan Champion
: 5' 4"; Freshman; R/R
: C

#33 McKayla Cothran
: 5' 6"; Freshman; L/R
: OF

#24 McKenzie Newcomb
: 5' 5"; Freshman; R/R
: P

#22 Mary Katherine Tedder
: 5' 8"; Graduate Student; R/R
: UTL

Samford University Athletics

Players Mentioned

Players Mentioned