BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The Samford softball team concluded its regular season with an 8-5 loss to UNC Greensboro on Sunday afternoon in Birmingham. The defeat drops the Bulldogs to 26-29 overall and 14-7 in Southern Conference play, closing out both their home and league schedules ahead of the post season where they will be the two seed in the SoCon Tournament.
The Bulldogs honored three seniors, Olivia Trout, Katie Hart, and Sara Bond prior to the game. Samford opened the scoring in the bottom of the first inning when Olivia Shaw launched a solo home run to left field, giving the Bulldogs a quick 1-0 lead. UNC Greensboro, however, responded in the top of the second with a solo homer from Hadley Gardner and a three-run blast by Macy Michael, pushing the Spartans ahead 4-1 and chasing starter Sara Bond from the circle after just 1.2 innings.
The Spartans continued their surge in the third inning, capitalizing on a home run by Laney Deane, an RBI double from Gardner, and an RBI single by Salem Ward to stretch the margin to 7-2. Samford answered in the bottom of the second, as Olivia Shaw reached on an error to drive in a run, but the Bulldogs struggled to generate a sustained threat until later in the game.
After falling behind by five runs, Shaw sparked the offense with three hits and three RBI's, while Katie Campbell delivered the key hit of the comeback bid, doubling to center in the sixth inning to plate Shaw and Phillips. Despite tallying 10 hits and scoring in four different innings, the Bulldogs stranded 12 runners on base—a season-high missed opportunity total that ultimately proved costly.
Claire McArthur provided stability out of the bullpen, tossing 4.2 innings and holding UNCG to just five hits and one unearned run. The Bulldogs limited the Spartans to one insurance run in the seventh, but could not close the gap in their final at-bat. Bond was tagged with the loss, dropping to 6-4 on the year.
The Bulldogs will be back in action on Thursday at 12 p.m. with their first game as the number two seed in the postseason tournament. They will face the winner of the number three seed against the number six/seven seed winner.
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