Samford Goes 1-3 on Saturday; Softball, Baseball, and Football all in Action

Softball

Softball Picks Up First Win in Ole Miss Classic

Samford Softball (7-8) played two games early this morning against Indiana State (4-7), their first meeting since 2011 when the two played a single game. In the first game, Samford was defeated in extra innings 6-5. Taylor DeCelles (L, 0-2) was tagged with the loss after tossing 2.2 innings in relief of Emily Barnett (ND, 4-2). The duo allowed a total of 6 runs (5 earned) on 12 hits. Barnett struck out 5 Sycamore's and DeCelles tagged on 2 more to the K counter. Offensively, 4 Bulldogs totaled multiple hits in the game with Timberlyn Shurbutt driving in 3 of her teammates with two doubles and sac fly. Freshman Short Stop Ansley Yantis was the other Bulldog to reach 2nd base from the box.

In Game 2, Abby Swaney (W, 3-3) went all 7 innings, allowing 2 runs on 6 hits while striking out 3. Like I said yesterday, this result is very positive for both her and the team as a whole after taking a come-backer to the left thigh last Sunday against ULM. Offensively, the bats were a lot quieter for the Bulldogs, but the hits came when the team needed them, propelling the Bulldogs to a 3-2 victory.

The Bulldogs will have another early game tomorrow as they play North Dakota State with first pitch coming just after 9:30. Next weekend, the Bulldogs will be back in town, but over the mountain at UAB as they participate in the UAB Classic. Samford's next home game will be March 17th as the Bulldogs host Mississippi State at 6pm

Baseball

Baseball Loses in a Laugher, Series Tied 1-1

Samford Baseball (5-5) got beat badly this afternoon by Toledo (1-7) by a score of 14-3. Jesse McCord (L, 0-2) started the game, pitching a solid game up until he ran out of gas in the 6th inning. For the first 5 innings, McCord allowed only 2 runs on 2 hits while striking out 8. In the 6th, the inning got off to a good start with his 9th strikeout, but a full count walk, an infield single, and a dropped fly ball out in Center Field loaded the bases. A single by Toledo's DH made it 3-3 and ended McCord's day. Hobbs relieved McCord and then struggled for the next 3 batters, giving up a single to keep the bases loaded (4-3 Toledo lead), a full count walk, and then left his first pitch to the Toledo Left Fielder who had no problem taking the ball deep to Center Field for a grand slam. Bortak was able to get the final 2 outs of the inning, striking out the first batter he faced and then Catcher K. Drier gunned down the Short Stop when he tried to swipe 2nd Base.

It was a rough day for the Bulldogs after last night's 5 run win, with the team tallying only 5 hits. Towns King stayed hot, being the only Bulldog with multiple hits. King now has a 3 game hit streak and today was the 4th time this season with multiple hits. The day was also rough for Samford out in the field with 3 errors committed with one each on the Third Baseman, Short Stop, and Center Fielder.

Samford will go for the series win tomorrow afternoon against these same Toledo Rockets. First pitch is scheduled for 12pm as the team (read "the marketing team") finishes up Family Weekend. If you can't make it to the game, follow us on Twitter for updates between every half inning and the scorebook after the game.

Football

Strong 1Q not Enough to Upset #17 Furman, Bulldogs Fall 44-17 in OverTime

Samford (1-2) fell to #17 Furman up in Greenville, SC despite hanging 24 points on the Paladins in the 1st Quarter. Samford cashed in a errant throw from Birmingham native Hamp Sisson for a 45 yard pick 6, and then Montrell Washington took a house call 55 yards with just under 3 minutes remaining to push the lead out to 17-7 (Mitchel Fineran hit a 50 yard field goal earlier in the quarter). The score would be updated one final time in the 1st as Jay Stanton bulldozed his way into the promised land as time expired to make the score 24-7.

Samford's next score would come in the 3rd quarter curtesy of a 22 yard field goal of Fineran. On Samford's very next possession, Liam Welch connected with Ty King for an 85 yard strike to give the Bulldogs a 14 point cushion over the Paladins, leading 34-20. Samford would not find the end zone for the rest of the game, reaching their 37 total points with another Fineran field goal, this time from 46. In OT, Furman got the ball first and scored. For the first 23 yards, things looked good for the Bulldogs, especially with a personal foul committed by the Paladin defense. However, the Bulldogs lost the ball on the 2 yard line and Furman recovered, ending the game. When compared to last year's Furman domination, this game sits a lot better in my view, but it still stings to see the game slip out of our grasp like that.

On the day, Samford totaled 407 yards of total offense with 253 from the arm of Liam Welch (completing 16 of his 21 attempts) and 154 yards from 5 different Bulldogs, led by Jay Stanton with 18 attempts for 86 yards and a touchdown. Welch targeted A.J. Tony the most, with Tony catching 6 and turning in 77 yards, but Ty King was economical with his 4 receptions, racking up 115 yards receiving and taking the aforementioned touchdown 85 yards. The defense was led by Ty Herring with 16 total tackles and a forced fumble. Chris Edmonds and Nathan East each got a tackle for loss on the day

The big problem areas for the Bulldogs this afternoon were the 9 penalties resulting in 48 yards against the Bulldogs and only converting on 1 of 10 3rd downs. Coming into the contest, the Bulldogs were flagged only 4 times in each of their previous 2 games. While this might lend itself to some accusations of home cooking for the Paladins, Furman was penalized 5 times on the day for 30 total yards, so we'll have to wait for another 2 weeks before we have the opportunity to blame the refs for a loss when the Bulldogs travel to The Citadel on March 27th. The bigger problem was the offense's inability to extend drives. This happened last year where the offense couldn't move the ball, giving the opposition increasingly better field position and wearing down our defense. Samford has not shut out an opponent since the Obama Administration when the Bulldogs blanked Clark Atlanta (D2) 43-0. Samford will spend the next two weeks at home where they will play host to Wofford on March 13th and then will welcome VMI on the 20th. Both kickoffs are currently scheduled for 12pm

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Picture taken by Chase Cochran

Picture taken by Chase Cochran

Picture taken by Chase Cochran