Box Score

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The Samford Bulldogs capitalized on three Phoenix errors in the bottom of the fourth inning to score five runs and hand the Elon softball team a 10-2 setback in six innings on Sunday afternoon, April 17, at Bulldog Field.

Elon drops to 20-19 overall and 5-10 in the Southern Conference, while Samford improves to 11-31 (7-9 SoCon) with the win.

After both squads scored one run in the first inning, the game went scoreless until the bottom of the fourth when the Bulldogs took a five-run lead after three Elon errors helped Samford take control of the game. After a leadoff walk to Lakan Smith, the Bulldogs put two runners on base after an error at third on a bunt attempt. From there, Arica Dykes hit a single up the middle to start the beginning of a Samford five-run rally. The Bulldogs received an RBI single from Kayla Shaffer and a two-run single from Robyn Harmon later in the inning before another runner crossed the plate on another Elon fielding miscue.
 
After the Bulldogs tacked on one run in the fifth to take a 7-1 advantage, the Phoenix cut the lead down to five runs in the top of the sixth after Morgan Wright scored on an error by the second baseman Harmon.

But the Bulldogs carried their offensive attack over into the bottom half of the inning, pushing across three more runs to win the game and take two out of three games in the series.

Lauren Taylor took the loss for the Phoenix after going four and one-thirds innings and giving up five runs (two earned) on four hits, four walks and two hit batters, while fanning four Bulldogs. Taylor falls to 11-8 on the year with the setback.

#Erin O’Shea and Pam DelPizzo# combined for an inning of work inside the circle, yielding five total runs, only two of them earned, on six hits and one walk. 

Kaitlyn Piazzolla led the Phoenix offensively, as New Jersey native finished 3-for-3 at the dish with one double. Today marked Piazzolla’s first three-hit game of the season and first since March 13 of last season against Western Carolina.

Rookie Carleigh Nester, who has hit safely in Elon’s last six games, finished 1-for-3 with an RBI after hitting the first pitch of the game over the fence in left field for her second home run of the season. #Tomeka Watson and Caitlin McGowan# both finished 1-for-3 at the plate in the loss.

Elon completes its six-game road swing on Wednesday, April 20, when the Phoenix treks down the road to Chapel Hill to face the North Carolina Tar Heels. First pitch is scheduled for 7 p.m. at Anderson Stadium.