Samford Stumbles On Day One Of Bulldog Invitational

Friday, March 1

Starkville, Miss.

12 PM

Samford University

2-11

Troy

15-4

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	Runs R	Hits H	Errors E
Samford	0	0	0	2	0	0	1	3	4	1
Troy	0	0	3	1	0	1	X	5	5	1

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	Runs R	Hits H	Errors E
Southern Miss	0	0	1	2	4	0	10	17	13	4
Samford	1	0	0	3	4	3	4	15	15	1

Samford Stumbles On Day One Of Bulldog Invitational

3.1.24 | Softball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2

STARKVILLE, Miss. – On a day that saw eight different members of the Samford softball team drive in a run, the Samford Bulldogs fell 5-3 to the Troy Trojans and 17-15 to the Southern Miss Golden Eagles on the opening day of the Mississippi State-hosted Bulldog Invitational.

After dropping both ends of Friday's twin billing, Samford will enter the later stages of the tournament with a record of 2-14. Troy moved to 15-4 and Southern Miss improved to 6-9 on the campaign.

In game one, Sara Bond took the loss for the Bulldogs in the circle. Bond allowed three runs on four hits and two walks over the course of her three-inning start. Karley Fuller and Jordyn Partain allowed a run in each of their relief appearances against the Trojans to open the weekend.

The Bulldog quartet of Sarah Squillace, Grier Bruce, Katie Campbell and Lindsey Nelson each had base hits in game one with Campbell's and Nelson's coming of the home run variety.

Troy broke a scoreless tie in the third inning when the Trojans put up a three spot in the bottom half of the frame to build a 3-0 lead. Campbell made it a 3-2 contest in the top half of the fourth with a blast to left center that plated Olivia Shaw.

After answering with a run in the bottom of the fourth, Troy scratched across another in the sixth before Nelson's first dinger of the season in the top of the seventh made it a 5-3 final.

In the 32-run affair that was the nightcap, Shaw tied for a game-high four hits, while Campbell drove in four more runs and McKayla Cothran scored three times.

Partain got the start for the Bulldogs and later replaced Sara Bond in the circle during Southern Miss' 10-run seventh inning. In total, Partain surrendered six earned over five innings of work. Fuller was dealt the loss for allowing four runs in her lone inning of relief.

Campbell opened the fireworks show with an RBI single in the bottom of the first that scored Squillace. A scoreless second gave way to Southern Miss scoring a single run in the third to tie the game before plating two more in the fourth to take a 3-1 lead.

In the first Bulldog comeback of the early evening, an RBI single by Shaw and back-to-back sac flies from Linsey Hargis and Ansley Yantis put Samford up 4-3 heading to the fifth.

In the fifth, the scoring bonanza kicked into high gear when each team scored four runs in their respective half-innings to make it an 8-7 contest.

Campbell's three-run moonshot in the bottom of the sixth put Samford out front 11-7. That deficit was quickly overcome as Southern Miss scored 10 in the top of the seventh to take a 17-11 advantage.

The Samford bats would not go quickly into the night as a Cothran RBI single to right that scored Yantis jumped started the rally. Down to the final two outs of the contest, Bruce launched a three-run home run of her own. The dinger was her second of the campaign and gave the Bulldogs the final three runs for the 17-15 final.

UP NEXT:
Samford will face off with Southern Miss and Troy again on Saturday. The Bulldogs will square off with Southern Miss at 4:30 p.m. before a rematch with Troy is slated for a 7 p.m. start.

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).