Samford Softball To Play At UT Martin In Must-Win OVC Series :: The Bulldogs would earn a spot in the OVC Tournament with a three-game sweep

May 2, 2008

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - With a berth in the 2008 Ohio Valley Conference Tournament on the line, the Samford University softball team will travel to Martin, Tenn., for a critical OVC series against the UT Martin Skyhawks beginning Saturday at 1 p.m., at Bettye Giles Field.

This weekend's three-game set is Samford's (20-27, 11-13 OVC) final series of the regular season.

The Bulldogs enter the competition as the seventh-place team in the conference standings and will most likely need a three-game sweep to qualify for the OVC Tournament. With three wins, Samford would surpass UT Martin (28-24, 10-9 OVC) for the sixth-and-final spot in the conference tournament.

There is also a slight possibility that the Bulldogs could qualify for the OVC Tournament with two victories this weekend.

In the aforementioned scenario, Samford would have to defeat UT Martin in two of the three games, and sixth-place Tennessee Tech (25-28-1, 9-10 OVC) would have to lose twice on the road against last-place Austin Peay (9-35, 3-20 OVC). Austin Peay has been defeated in nine-straight games and has not earned an OVC win since April 12.

Only the top six teams in the final OVC standings will qualify for the conference tournament.

Jacksonville State (32-14, 19-5 OVC) has already clinched the regular-season title and will host next week's six-team competition beginning Thursday. Second-place Eastern Kentucky (26-18, 15-9 OVC) has also earned a spot in the tournament.

Samford heads into the weekend as one of the hottest teams in the conference. The Bulldogs have been victorious in six of their previous nine games and have won their last three OVC series'.

UT Martin enters the three-game series as the hottest team in the OVC. The Skyhawks have won 12 of their previous 13 contests and have not lost a conference series since being swept by Eastern Kentucky on April 12-13. UT Martin's last loss occurred April 26 against Southeast Missouri, 6-5.

Katie England, Samford's sophomore third baseman from Birmingham, has been one of the Bulldogs' top hitters this season.

Last week, England blasted a pair of home runs and turned in a team-leading .417 batting average. She went 1-for-3 against No. 1-ranked Alabama on Wednesday and hit a towering home run to deep left center field off the Crimson Tide's Kelsi Dunne.

In Saturday's rubber game against Tennessee State, England turned in a perfect 3-for-3 performance at the plate and hit a key two-run homer in the top of the sixth inning. In the 12-3 victory, she was only a triple shy of becoming the first Samford player to hit for the cycle. England finished the week with a 1.000 slugging percentage.

Samford's top pitcher this season has been sophomore Amanda Barrs. Barrs enters Saturday's doubleheader with a 7-7 record and a 3.47 earned run average.

Junior Jessica Owens owns the Bulldogs' best batting average with a .346 mark. With three games remaining in the regular season, she needs six more hits to become Samford's all-time single-season hits leader. Owens currently owns a team-high 54 hits.

Samford holds a 7-5 all-time record against UT Martin. Last season, the Bulldogs compiled a 3-1 mark versus the Skyhawks and knocked them out of the 2007 OVC Tournament with a 4-1 victory.

In 2006, Samford's last trip to Martin, Tenn., the Bulldogs finished with a 1-2 record at Bettye Giles Field.

Following Saturday's doubleheader versus UT Martin, Samford will conclude its regular-season schedule Sunday at 1 p.m., as the Bulldogs wrap up their three-game series against the Skyhawks.

Game One - Live Stats
Game Two - Live Stats