April 12, 2005

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The Samford University softball team will take a break from its 2005 Ohio Valley Conference schedule on Wednesday as the Bulldogs play host to the Chattanooga Lady Mocs in a non-conference doubleheader beginning at 5 p.m., at Bulldog Field.

"This is a big opportunity for our team to play a quality non-conference opponent and for us to see how we stack up," said Samford head coach Beanie Ketcham. "Chattanooga is a really good team and hopefully we'll be able to continue playing at the same level that we have been against conference opponents. This will be a good midweek test for us."

Samford (19-16) heads into Wednesday's matchup as the first-place team in the OVC after earning a three-game sweep on the road against Austin Peay over the weekend. The Bulldogs have won 12 of their previous 15 contests and own a 5-2 record at home since March 19.

Despite entering conference play in the midst of a seven-game losing streak, Samford opened its OVC season with four-consecutive wins and has streaked to a league-best 12-3 record. The Bulldogs have spent a predominant portion of the conference season in first place and currently lead Tennessee-Martin by 1.5 games for the league's top spot.

"As a team, our confidence is really high right now and we're playing a lot better than we did earlier in the season," Ketcham said. "I think that our confidence will definitely be a factor and our pitchers have really been performing well lately. Both Emilee (Lewis) and Susanna (Meyer) have been pitching better and we're expecting two good performances tomorrow."

Chattanooga (34-15) enters Wednesday's non-conference doubleheader as the second-place team in the Southern Conference with a 9-3 league record. The Lady Mocs took two of three contests against Georgia Southern over the weekend, but still trail College of Charleston in the conference standings by 1.5 games.

After opening SoCon play with an unblemished 7-0 record, Chattanooga dropped two games on the road at College of Charleston on April 2-3. The Lady Mocs have lost three of their previous five conference games and have been outscored 25-21 against SoCon opponents since April 2.

"Chattanooga has a really talented pitching staff and we're going to need to play smart in order to score some runs," said Ketcham. "Hopefully, we'll continue to hit the ball well and we'll be able to do all of the little things to move the runs across."

Chattanooga's pitching staff boasts a combined 2.16 earned run average and has already compiled 316 strikeouts.

The Lady Mocs' senior pitcher, Lacey Swarthout, leads the team with a 21-8 overall record on the season and owns a miniscule 1.87 ERA. A native of Orlando, Fla., Swarthout has accumulated 201 strikeouts this season in a total of 183.1 innings pitched.

Samford's Heather Williams enters Wednesday's doubleheader as one of the team's hottest hitters.

In four games last week, the Bulldogs' freshman first baseman, compiled a stellar .667 batting average with a 6-for-9 performance at the plate. Williams, a native of Rockledge, Fla., also tallied three RBI, scored three runs and walked four times en route to recording a team-leading .769 on-base percentage.

She also powered two doubles and paced the team with an impressive .889 slugging percentage. Williams went 2-for-3 with an RBI and a run scored against Jacksonville State on April 7, and then followed that performance with a 4-for-6 weekend versus Austin Peay in leading the Bulldogs to a three-game sweep over the Lady Govs.

Samford and Chattanooga have maintained a regional rivalry that dates back to the 1994 season.

In the first meeting between the teams, Samford earned a 9-3 victory and then went on to sweep the Lady Mocs in a 1995 doubleheader, 5-4 and 5-1. Since then, Chattanooga has held the upper hand in the rivalry and currently owns a 21-5 all-time record against the Bulldogs.

Last season, Samford traveled to Chattanooga, Tenn., for a doubleheader and fought its way to a split. The Lady Mocs won the first game, 4-0, before the Bulldogs rallied for a 5-1 victory at Frost Stadium.

The Samford University softball team will attempt to extend its winning streak to five-consecutive games on Wednesday as the Bulldogs host the Chattanooga Lady Mocs in a non-conference doubleheader beginning at 5 p.m., at Bulldog Field.