CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. - The Samford softball team faced UNCG for the Southern Conference Tournament Championship this morning. The top two seeds met for the second time this weekend, with the Bulldogs falling today by a score of 4-0 to see their season end with a 28-31 record.
The Bulldogs turned to
Makinley Turner to make her third start and fourth appearance of the weekend. She got out of a bases-loaded jam in the first as
Ella Nelson made a stellar catch at second base to end the inning. The Spartans got on the board in the second inning as they led off with a solo homer off Turner. They added two more in the third with another long ball as Samford fell behind 3-0. The day for Tuner came to an end after that as she was replaced by
Sara Bond.
Offensively, the Bulldogs failed to get anything going for most of the day. After getting just one hit against UNCG starter Brooklyn Shroyer yesterday, the Bulldog bats were silenced by the Pitcher of the Year once again. Their lone scoring chance came in the sixth inning when
Katie Hart singled up the middle for the Dogs' first base knock of the game. Conference Player of the Year
Olivia Shaw drew a walk to bring the tying run to the plate, but
Katie Campbell struck out and
Ella Nelson popped out to end the threat.
Bond was good in relief for Samford, going 3.1 innings, allowing just three hits. However, she allowed a double off the right field wall, which brought home a run in the bottom of the sixth to make it a 4-0 game. The Bulldogs went down in order in the seventh as they came up one game short of an NCAA Tournament appearance.
Olivia Shaw,
Makinley Turner, and
Katie Hart were named to the All-Tournament team for Samford. The Bulldogs season ends with a 28-31 record after playing 21 games against teams in the top 75 of the RPI.
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