BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The Samford softball team returned home to host a midweek tilt against No. 22 ranked Alabama today. The Bulldogs hung around with the Crimson Tide, but the Dogs couldn't keep up with the Alabama bats and fell 9-2. Samford falls to 13-7 on the season and 0-3 against SEC teams while Alabama moves to 16-6 on the year.

The Bulldogs entered today's game riding high, winners of six of their last seven games with the line defeat coming to No. 3 ranked Florida. The pitchers had thrown three straight shutouts but that run was ended early on as Alabama brought two runners across against Jordyn Partain in the first inning. The Bulldogs answered with two runs of their own to tie the game as McKayla Cothran and Joi Hubbard led off with singles and were plated on a Katie Campbell single and a Olivia Shaw sacrifice fly to make the game 2-2.

It looked like an offensive shootout was on the cards as the visitors scored three more runs in the second innings and led off the third with a solo homer which ended the day for Partain. Her final line read 2 innings, five hits, and six runs, five earned. She was replaced in the circle by Olivia Treece who was rudely greeted by surrendering a solo homer to her first batter as the Tide went back-to-back. The freshman didn't quite have her best command as she lasted just five batters, retiring one and walking two.

Sara Bond entered as the third pitcher for the Bulldogs and she had the best success against the Alabama lineup. She got out of the bases-loaded jam in the third to keep the game at 7-2 and would go the rest of the way for the Dogs. She was more than solid on the night and only got into trouble in the six inning where she walked two straight batters and hit the next which resulted in two runs scoring in the inning. Bond went 4.2 innings, allowing four hits, two runs, and striking out a batter.

After having four hits early on, the Bulldog bats went quiet as they struggled to get a hold of Alabama pitching as they made the change to Jocelyn Briski in the second innings and she would go the distance allowing just two more hits.

The Bulldogs had six hits for the game, led by Linsey Hargis who grabbed a pair of singles, and Shaw who had the line extra-base hit with a double. After the leadoff runs from Cothran and Hubbard, the Bulldogs went down 9-2 in the game.

Samford is back in action this weekend when they head to play another tournament hosted by North Alabama. It is a strong field that will see the Dogs open with Detroit on Friday, followed by Louisiana-Monroe and North Alabama each twice.

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