April 22, 2003

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With one week remaining in the Atlantic Sun regular season, Samford and Georgia State find themselves on the outside looking in as eight teams continue to battle for six tournament spots. Georgia State and Samford are currently seventh and eight but both are just one game behind sixth place Jacksonville State. Tuesday's 4 p.m. double header at Bulldog Field could eliminate one team or make for an interesting final weekend.

The Bulldogs (24-15, 10-8 A-Sun) have split their last four conference series after splitting a pair of 4-3 games with Campbell. The Bulldogs trail Georgia State by a 1/2 game and Jacksonville State by a full game. Samford must over take both schools to get into the tournament. Kelly Smith is riding a 13-game hitting streak in which she is batting .450 with seven doubles, three HR, and nine RBI. With eight games left to play, Samford has already broken team records for home runs, runs, and RBI in one season. The Bulldogs have tied records for longest winning streak and shutouts. Samford is three wins shy of the most wins in one season.

The Lady Panthers (20-28, 10-7 A-Sun) have split their last two conference series against FAU and Mercer. Katie Blue leads the team with a .257 average. She has 12 home runs and 23 RBI. Meghan McCoy is next with a .224 average, six home runs, and 17 RBI. Lindsey Bryant has five HR's and 18 RBI. GSU has hit 31 home runs this season but have not gone deep in its last five games. In the circle, Andrea McNary is 9-13 with a 2.38 ERA. She has 137 strikeouts in 144 innings. Lindsey French is 9-7 with a 2.76 ERA. Six of her nine wins have been by shutout. She has 96 strikeouts in 109 innings. Georgia State leads Samford by a half game in the standings; The Lady Panthers will make up a game with Troy State on Thursday.

Regardless of how the Bulldogs finish in conference play, the 2003 season will be considered the Bulldogs best season ever. Samford is guaranteed of its first winning season in the 15-year history of the program. Samford is nine games over .500 with just eight games remaining on the schedule.