SPARTANBURG, S.C. - The Samford softball team returned to action in the winner's bracket of the Southern Conference Tournament today as they faced top-seed Chattanooga. The Bulldogs dropped their first game of the tournament 8-3 as they fell to 33-22 on the season.

The Bulldogs got the bats going early as Katie Campbell delivered an RBI single to right field that brought home McKayla Cothran. The RBI gave Campbell her conference-high 55th of the season as the Dogs struck first for the first time this tournament.

Chattanooga struck back in the home half of the inning working against Jordyn Partain who drew the start for Samford. She surrendered a one-out two-run homer as the Mocs moved back in front. The Bulldogs rallied with two outs the next time they got the bats in the second inning as Joi Hubbard was hit by a pitch and stole second, her 30th of the year, and scored on a Cothran single to tie the game. The Bulldog center fielder would come around and score as Campbell reached on an error to the shortstop and Samford regained the lead 3-2.

The big inning came from the Mocs in the bottom of the third as they scored six runs in part because of sloppy Samford defense. The Bulldogs committed three errors in the inning which made five of the six runs unearned. Partain's final line was two innings, allowing four hits, and six runs, three of which were earned. She gave way to Olivia Treece who surrendered two unearned runs after another Bulldog error. By the time she got out of the inning, the Mocs led 8-3.

From that point on, the pitching from both sides settled in. The combination of Treece and Karley Fuller, who entered in the fifth, didn't allow a hit from the Mocs lineup. The issue was the Bulldogs couldn't get much going offensively either against Chattanooga's second pitcher of the afternoon. 

Cothran was really the lone bat that got going for the Dogs as she went 2-for-3 at the dish with two runs scored and an RBI. Both sides got just five hits each in the game as Partain took the loss for the Bulldogs to fall to 15-14 on the year.

The Dogs are back in action this afternoon as they will face the winner of the elimination game between UNCG and Mercer. First pitch is scheduled for 3 p.m. with the winner of the game having to beat Chattanooga twice the next day and the loser being eliminated.

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