Softball 4.5.23

Bulldogs Set To Host ETSU For Weekend Series

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – After a weekend series at Western Carolina, the Samford softball team returns home for an Easter Weekend matchup with the ESTU Buccaneers.

The three-game holiday weekend series will get underway with a doubleheader on Thursday starting at 10 a.m. CT. With rain in the forecast, Friday's weekend finale is tentatively scheduled for 1 p.m. and will be streamed on ESPN+. Samford's game notes are be found here.

Entering the third weekend of Southern Conference play, the Bulldogs are 15-21 overall and 4-2 in the SoCon. Samford enters the weekend second in the league standings.

ETSU brings 9-23 and 2-4 records to Birmingham after taking two of three from Furman on the weekend.

Samford and ETSU have met 24 previous times in program history with the Bulldogs holding a commanding 18-6 advantage all-time. The Bulldogs have bested the Buccaneers six-straight times and 10 times in the last 12 meetings.

McKenzie Newcomb is once again leading the Bulldog pitching staff as the sophomore ranks 15th nationally with a strikeout-to-walk ratio of 7.80. Newcomb has also accumulated 117 strikeouts which ranks 32nd nationally and an ERA of 1.90, good enough for 103rd in the country.

Newcomb leads a pitching staff that ranks 57th in the country with 197 strikeouts on the season. The Bulldog team ERA ranks second in the SoCon at 3.20. Bulldog pitchers enter the weekend ranked 38th nationally with a strikeout-to-walk ratio of 2.90.

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 25th nationally. Bruce leads the team with 10 home runs and ranks first in the SoCon and 29th nationally. The sophomore duo had a combined 38 at-bats as freshmen in 2022 and in 2023 they have a combined 45 RBIs.

Bruce's 10 home runs on the year are more than Mary Katherine Tedder and Timberlyn Shurbutt's team-leading 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 on Sunday, Bruce became the eighth Bulldog in program history with double-digit homers in a season.

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Players Mentioned

#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

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

Players Mentioned

#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

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

Samford University Athletics

Players Mentioned

Players Mentioned