Birmingham, Ala. – Samford's Grier Bruce cracked a walk-off home run in game one and Merritt Cahoon delivered a walk-off single in the nightcap to lead the Bulldogs to a 4-3, 6-5 doubleheader sweep of Furman on Saturday at Samford Softball Field in Birmingham, Ala.
The Paladins (19-26, 7-6 SoCon) and Bulldogs (20-26, 9-5 SoCon) conclude this weekend's series with a 2 p.m. ET contest on Sunday at Samford Softball Field. The game will be streamed live on ESPN+.
Furman took a quick 3-0 lead in the top of the first inning in game one.
Ashlee Lykins and
Caitlin Goldwait singled before
Riley Ludlam lined a 2-run double into the left-center field gap. Ludlam crossed the plate on
Sylvia Burroughs' sacrifice fly.
Samford got on the board in the fifth on Logan Champion's RBI double into the gap. The Paladins maintained their lead until the bottom of the seventh inning when Sarah Squillace and McKayla Cothran reached on one-out singles to chase Furman starter
Emme Buzhardt. Reliever
Sierra Tufts retired Champion on a grounder back to the circle but Grier Bruce reached safely when
Kiley Perry misplayed a potential game-ending grounder to first. Calhoun followed with an RBI single to left field to knot the game at 3-3.
Furman stranded runners on base in the eighth and ninth innings before Samford's Bruce belted a walk-off home run with one out in the bottom of the ninth.
Tufts was charged with the loss after allowing one run on three hits in two innings of work. Buzhardt worked 6.1 innings and allowed just one earned run on eight hits.
McKenzie Newcomb went the distance to pick up the win for the Bulldogs to improve to 11-8. She gave up eight hits and three runs over nine innings while striking out eight batters and walking one.
Fleming went 2-for-4 with a double for the Paladins. Lykins added a single and a base on balls. Squillace finished 2-for-3 with a base on balls and two runs for Samford while Cothran, Bruce, Cahoon, and Lindsey Nelson also totaled two hits apiece.
In the nightcap, Samford scored three runs in the first inning and added two more in the third to jump out to a 5-0 lead. Nelson highlighted the three-run first inning for the Bulldogs with a two-run single and Cahoon drove in a pair with her third-inning base hit.
Furman answered with a five-run top half of the fourth inning. Lykins reached on an error to start the frame, Goldwait was hit by a pitch and Ludlam walked to load the bases. After Perry drove in a run with a ground out and Burroughs bounced into a fielder's choice,
Alex Rose Molinar drilled a single to center to trim the margin to 5-2.
Lauralee Scott kept the inning alive with an infield single that was misplayed allowing Burroughs to score. Fleming walked ahead of
Ainsley Yoshizumi's two-run single to center field that knotted the game at 5-5.
The Paladins left two runners on base in the fifth, sixth, and seventh innings, before Samford claimed the win in the bottom of the seventh. Cothran singled to open the inning, moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by Champion and scored two batters later when Cahoon lined a single back through the middle.
Cahoon went 2-for-4 with three RBIs to lead Samford's 12-hit effort and Jordyn Partain tossed a complete game to earn the win. She allowed five unearned runs on seven hits over seven innings to improve to 4-9 in the circle. The righthander walked three batters and fanned six.
Tufts (10-11) absorbed her second loss of the day allowing six runs on 12 hits over 6.1 innings of work. She walked two and fanned three Bulldogs.
Ludlam, Burroughs, and Fleming each notched a hit and a base on balls for the Paladins.
