Softball 5.9.23

Softball Travels To Chattanooga For SoCon Tournament

BIRMINGHAM, ALA. – Led by the Southern Conference Pitcher of the Year McKenzie Newcomb and four other All-SoCon performers, the No. 2 seeded Samford softball team opens the 2023 SoCon Championship against the No. 7 seed ESTU Buccaneers on Wednesday, May 10 at Frost Stadium in Chattanooga.

The first round contest between the Bulldogs and the Buccaneers is slated for an 11:30 a.m. CT start and the game will be streamed on ESPN+. The official bracket can be found here and Samford's game notes are here.

Following a sweep of Chattanooga on the final weekend of the regular season, the Bulldogs enter the postseason with an overall record of 23-29 with a 12-6 mark in conference play.

ETSU sits at 15-35 and 6-12 in the SoCon after being swept by Western Carolina before taking two of three from Mercer to end the regular season.

The Bulldogs and Buccaneers have met a total of 27 times in program history with Samford leading the all-time series with a 20-7 record. Before falling to ETSU in the series finale on Easter Weekend, Samford had won seven-straight contests and 11 of the last 14 meetings between the Bulldogs and the Buccaneers.

In addition to Newcomb being named Conference Pitcher of the Year, Newcomb was also named first team All-SoCon. The Bulldog quartet of Logan Champion, Grier Bruce, McKayla Cothran and Lindsey Nelson landed second team All-SoCon honors.

Newcomb led the SoCon in ERA (2.18), Strikeouts (153) and was tied for the league lead with 12 wins. The sophomore finished the regular season with a strikeout-to-walk ratio of 7.65, which was good enough to rank seventh in the country.

Champion exploded onto the scene in 2023 by batting .329 with 10 home runs and 26 RBIs. The catcher collected 14 doubles and 103 total bases to finish second in the league in both categories. As good as Champion was offensively, the sophomore dazzled behind the plate throwing out 20 runners, which is a SoCon high and the second most in the country.

To go along with Champion in the heart of the Samford batting order, Bruce hit .306 with a Bulldog-best 13 home runs and 39 RBIs. Bruce's 13 dingers on the year are the most by a Bulldog in a single season since Whitney Hinton hit 15 in 2019.

The dynamic duo of Champion and Bruce combined for 65 RBIs on the year after only having 38 at-bats in 2022. The sophomores also became the first Bulldog teammates to hit double digit home runs in the same season since Callie Brister and Hannah Trombley each hit 12 in 2016.

The full SoCon Championship Tournament schedule and times (ET) are listed below.

2023 SoCon Softball Championship
Chattanooga, Tenn.

Wednesday, May 10
Game 1: No. 4 Western Carolina vs. No. 5 Mercer, 10 a.m.
Game 2: No. 2 Samford vs. No. 7 ETSU, 12:30 p.m.
Game 3: No. 3 Furman vs. No. 6 Chattanooga, 3 p.m.

Thursday, May 11
Game 4: Game 2 loser vs. Game 3 loser, 10 a.m.
Game 5: No. 1 UNCG vs. Game 1 winner, 12:30 p.m.
Game 6: Game 2 winner vs. Game 3 winner, 3 p.m.
Game 7: Game 4 winner vs. Game 5 loser, 5:30 p.m.
Game 8: Game 1 loser vs. Game 6 loser, 8 p.m.

Friday, May 12
Game 9: Game 5 winner vs. Game 6 winner, 10 a.m.
Game 10: Game 7 winner vs. Game 8 winner, 12:30 p.m.
Game 11: Game 10 winner vs. Game 9 loser, 3 p.m.

Saturday, May 13
Game 12: Game 9 winner vs. Game 11 winner, 1 p.m.
Game 13 (if necessary): Game 12 winner vs. Game 12 loser, 3 p.m.

FOLLOW THE BULLDOGS:
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

#15 Lindsey Nelson: INF; 5' 7"; Sophomore; 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

Players Mentioned

#15 Lindsey Nelson
: 5' 7"; Sophomore; 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

Samford University Athletics

Players Mentioned

Players Mentioned