BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The Samford softball team began its final series of the season today as they hosted UNCG for a doubleheader. A matchup with the top two teams in the Southern Conference saw the Spartans take game one 3-0 before Samford bounced back to win game two 6-5. The Bulldogs move to 26-28 on the season and lock up the number two seed in next week's SoCon Tournament.
GAME ONE: UNCG - 3 | SAMFORD - 0
The series featured the best offense in the conference, Samford, and the top pitching staff in the league, UNCG. The opener started as a pitchers' duel as each starter was able to strand runners in the opening to innings without any damage. That changed in the third inning when the visitors got two runners on with singles before a three-run homer to give them the lead off Samford's
Makinley Turner.
Offensively, the Bulldogs didn't have many answers for the Spartans' pitching. After getting runner on through hit by pitches early, they managed just two hits on the game and struck out ten times in the game.
Ella Nelson and
Katie Hart each delivered singles, but the Dogs were blanked to open the series. Turner was solid outside of the long ball, pitching around six hits with eight strikeouts as she went the distance but failed to get run support and fell to 8-8 on the year.
GAME TWO: UNCG - 5 | SAMFORD - 6
After being shutout in game one, the Bulldogs wasted no time striking in game two.
Katie Campbell delivered a single that scored
Brandy Phillips and then
Brooke Wildes delivered the big blow with a grand slam that made it 5-0 Samford in the first inning.Â
UNCG chipped away at the deficit with runs in four consecutive innings, running Samford starter Reese Hickey in the fourth inning and then tying the game at 5-5 by the top of the fifth. The Bulldogs recaptured momentum in the home half of the fifth as Olivia Shaw doubled and scored the go-ahead run on a clutch infield single by Addison Smith.
In the late innings, Sara Bond anchored the pitching staff, scattering just one hit across 3.1Â innings of relief to secure the win and improve to 6-3 on the season. The Bulldogs protected the one-run advantage, stranding 10 Spartans on base over seven frames. Olivia Shaw and Addison Smith both finished with two hits, with Smith's RBI ultimately deciding the contest.
The Spartans cliched the regular season title with the victory in game one, but the Bulldogs will look to capture the series victory over the top side tomorrow when they play at 1 p.m.
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