April 22, 2006
Box Score
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (Saturday, April 22, 2006) - The Redhawks softball team suffered a pair of 2-1 setbacks to the Samford Bulldogs in a doubleheader at University Park on Saturday afternoon. The loss gave the Bulldogs a series sweep as the Redhawks were handed their first three-game OVC sweep of the season.
In game one, Samford (17-34, 7-12 OVC) used a stellar pitching performance from Stephanie Royall and a two-run homer from Shelley Stanley to defeat the Redhawks.
In the second game, the teams needed 10 innings before the Bulldogs used a suicide squeeze bunt from Rachael Reeves to score Jenna Dempski for the extra-inning win.
The Redhawks (27-15, 14-6 OVC) entered the weekend as the 21st-ranked team in the nation in batting average (.304), but only tallied eight hits and two runs in three games against Samford. Southeast Missouri was no-hit by Royall on Friday, was held to three hits in game one on Saturday and then totaled five hits in 10 innings in game two.
In the bottom of the first inning of game one, Samford received all of the scoring it would need as Stanley drilled a line-drive home run to center field.
With Bethany Weisser on first base and two outs, Stanley received the green light on a 3-0 count and hit a laser over the center field fence for her team-leading eighth homer of the season. She is the Bulldogs' all-time home run leader with 23 career round-trippers.
Samford's Jeslyn Metcalf, Erin Hall, Stanley and Weisser all went 1-for-3 in game one on Saturday.
The Redhawks scored its lone run of the game in the top of the sixth inning as shortstop Megan McDonald singled up the middle to score Katie Otterness from third base.
Otterness started off the inning with a double to left center field and later moved to third with her first stolen base of the season. The hit was the Redhawks' first of the series.
After pitching 5 2/3 innings of hitless softball against the Redhawks on Friday, Samford's Royall went another five innings before allowing a hit on Saturday.
In the victory, Royall improved to 11-11 on the season and tied a school record with 13 strikeouts. Last year, Samford's Susanna Meyer set the school record as she turned in a pair of 13-strikeout performances.
Stephanie Huffman (13-5) saw her strong pitching effort wasted as she pitched a complete game allowing only two runs on four hits and striking out four.
Lindsay Pickering joined Otterness and McDonald as the only Redhawks with a hit in game one.
Meyer started in the circle for the Bulldogs in game two and only allowed five hits in 10 innings. She limited the Redhawks to one run on five hits and picked up her third win of the season.
With the score of the game knotted at 1-1 in the bottom of the 10th inning, Samford's Meghan Wagner dropped down a perfect sacrifice bunt down the first-base line to move Dempski over to third with only one out. Reeves, the next batter, then drove in the game-winning run by bunting to first base on the suicide squeeze.
Wagner gave Samford an early lead in game two as she powered a solo home run to left-center field in the bottom of the third inning. The homer was her first of the season and the fifth of her career.
Samford's Weisser, Stanley, Dempski and Reeves all earned hits in the second game.
The Bulldogs briefly maintained their 1-0 lead until the top of the fifth inning when Lindsey Webb hit her first home run of the season to tie the game at 1-1.
Pickering went 2-3 from the plate and McDonald and Jen Monaghan each went 1-4.
Elaine Fisher (12-10) pitched her second-straight solid outing in a losing effort. She pitched a season-high 9.2 innings allowing two runs (one earned) on five hits. She struckout five and did not issue a single walk.
The Redhawks look to snap out of their current losing streak as they travel to first-place Tennessee Tech for a crucial three-game series. The teams will play a doubleheader on Saturday, April 29 starting at 1:00 p.m. and will wrap-up the series with one game on Sunday.
