Softball 3.22.24

Samford Opens SoCon Play At Home On Saturday Against Chattanooga

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – To open Southern Conference play for the 2024 season, the Samford softball team is set to host the Chattanooga Mocs for a weekend series that starts on Saturday at Samford Softball Stadium.

The three-game weekend series gets underway on Saturday with a doubleheader starting at 1 p.m. CT. The Weekend finale is slated for 1 p.m. to close out the weekend. All three games will be streamed on ESPN+ and Samford's game notes can be found here.

Saturday's doubleheader will double as the annual SamLot Student Shirt Giveaway. All Samford students will be given a SamLot shirt.

Samford enters league play with a record of 6-20 after dropping an 11-2 contest at No. 13 Alabama on Tuesday following the squad's bye weekend.

Chattanooga comes to Birmingham with a record of 18-8 on the season. Since the calendar has moved to March, the Mocs are 8-1 including a clean sweep of the Central Arkansas Tournament to open the month.

Samford and Chattanooga have met 66 previous times in program history with the Mocs leading the series with a record of 24-42. The Bulldogs took all four meetings between the two squads and have won eight of the last ten meetings dating back to 2021.

Saturday's games with the Mocs will be the first time the Bulldogs will have played at home on the weekend this year.

Offensively, the Bulldogs are paced at the top of the lineup by the junior duo of McKayla Cothran and Sarah Squillace. Cothran leads Samford in batting average at .313 and 26 base hits, while Squillace is slashing .280 with 26 hits herself.

The heart of the order features one of the best young hitters in the conference as Katie Campbell leads the team with seven home runs and 26 RBIs. Grier Bruce ranks second on the squad with three homers and 17 RBIs while Logan Champion has a pair of triples to pace the Bulldogs.

Along with her prowess in the batter's box, Champion has thrown out seven runners attempting to steal, which ranks 33rd nationally.

On the national stage, Campbell's eight dingers rank her in 39th in total home runs and 40th in home runs per game at 0.32.

With Southern Conference Preseason Pitcher of the Year McKenzie Newcomb missing a large amount of time during the tournament season, the Bulldogs have turned to the junior Jordyn Partain and freshman Karley Fuller in the circle. Partain leads the SoCon with 68.2 innings pitch so far this season while Fuller tossed Samford's first complete game no-hitter on March 8 against Detriot Mercy to open the UNA Tournament.

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).

Print Friendly Version

Players Mentioned

#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

#2 Sarah Squillace: UTL; 5' 0"; Freshman; L/R

#99 Jordyn Partain: P; 5' 8"; Freshman; R/R

#8 Katie Campbell: INF/C; 5' 9"; Freshman; R/R

#18 Karley Fuller: P; 5' 7"; Freshman; R/R

Players Mentioned

#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

#2 Sarah Squillace
: 5' 0"; Freshman; L/R
: UTL

#99 Jordyn Partain
: 5' 8"; Freshman; R/R
: P

#8 Katie Campbell
: 5' 9"; Freshman; R/R
: INF/C

#18 Karley Fuller
: 5' 7"; Freshman; R/R
: P

Samford University Athletics

Players Mentioned

Players Mentioned