BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – On the heels of a historic midweek win over No. 18 Mississippi State, the Samford softball team welcomes the Western Carolina Catamounts to Samford Softball Stadium for Senior Weekend.
The three-game weekend series will get underway on Saturday with a doubleheader starting at 1 p.m. before a 1 p.m. first pitch on Sunday closes out the Bulldog home slate for the 2024 season. All three games will be streamed on ESPN+ and Samford's game notes can be found here.
Before Sunday's finale, the Samford senior trio of Ansley Yantis, Abigail Dorsett and Lindsey Nelson will be recognized for their contributions to Bulldog softball over the last four years.
Entering the penultimate weekend of Southern Conference play, Samford has an overall record of 17-27 and 9-6 in league play after walking off No. 18 Mississippi State in the midweek. The win was Samford's win over a ranked opponent since 2016 and the first time the program has downed an SEC foe at home since 2007.
Western Carolina brings records of 14-29 and 5-10 to Birmingham for the weekend. Last time out, the Catamounts dropped both ends of a doubleheader to Appalachian State in the midweek.
Samford and Western Carolina have met 55 previous times with the Catamounts from Cullowhee leading the all-time series by the slimmest of margins at 23-22. The last time these two squads faced off in Birmingham, Samford swept Western Carolina and outscored the Catamounts 17-6.
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 .351, while Squillace is slashing .304.
The heart of the order features one of the best young hitters in the conference as Katie Campbell leads the team with 11 home runs and 41 RBIs. Logan Champion ranks second on the squad with five homers and 24 RBIs while holding the team lead with a trio of triples.
On the national stage, Campbell ranks top 100 nationally in hit-by-pitches (8/92th), home runs (11/76th), home runs per game (0.26/94th), RBIs (41/72nd) and RBIs per game (0.95/72nd).
Since Samford was on the wrong end of a perfect game against Auburn on April 3, Olivia Shaw has been one of the best bats in the Bulldog lineup. The freshman is riding a 10-game hit streak and batting .500 with a pair of home runs and seven RBIs in that span including all three RBIs in the victory over Mississippi State.
In the circle, Jordyn Partain sits third in the SoCon with 124.1 innings pitch and games started with 24, which ranks 24th in all of D1. The junior has also tossed a SoCon-best 13 complete games, which ranks 44th nationally.
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).
