Oct. 1, 2008

2008 Fall Schedule

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. ---- The Samford University softball team will begin practice for the 2008 fall season on Thursday, Oct. 2. The Bulldogs will prepare to host a fall tournament as well as start to lay the ground work for their first year of competition in the Southern Conference. Samford head coach Beanie Ketcham and her staff have worked hard to come up with a plan to carry Samford's late success last year over to this new season.

"I think for us, one of the things that we have really committed to and looked at as a coaching staff is really, what it takes to compete at the regional level," Ketcham said. "After watching, studying and talking, we really feel like pitching and defense is the key. Part of our emphasis during the fall is really going to be on pitching and defense."

After a slow start to the 2008 season, the Bulldogs took of in the latter third of the season and reached the semifinals of the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament last season for the first time in school history. Ketcham and her staff felt that things just started to click towards the middle of the season, and the players began to buy in to what Ketcham had been selling all season long.

"We just got hot towards the end of last season," said Ketcham, "both offensively and defensively. I definitely think in terms of their confidence and them knowing they can play with the top teams in the conference, and I think they've always known; now they feel like they have to tools to do it."

The next step for Samford is carrying that confidence over as they move into a brand new set of competition in the Southern Conference.

"Coming back, for softball, I think it's going to be more of a parallel move for us," said Ketcham. "I think we are confident that we can compete in the conference in the first year and honestly, one of our goals is, if we don't win the conference, we will have failed. I think we can go in and compete that well right away."

The Samford softball team returns 12 from the 2007-08 roster, eight of those are starters. The Bulldogs will also add four freshmen to the mix.

Samford kicks of fall play in two weekends as the Bulldogs host the fourth annual Knockin' Cancer Out of the Ballpark tournament, Oct. 18th. Samford will play Jefferson State Community College and the University of Alabama-Huntsville on Friday, Oct. 17th at 3 p.m. and 6:15 p.m., respectively. Tournament play kicks off on Saturday morning with an 11 a.m. game featuring UAH and UAB. Samford will then take on Jefferson State at 1:15 p.m. followed by a face-off with Samford and UAB at 3:30 p.m.

The tournament is held to raise money to benefit the UAB Pediatric Neuro-Oncology Research Program at Children's Hospital. One hundred percent of all proceeds go to the cause. In the past three years, the event has raised over $75,000. There is no cost to get into the games; however donations will be accepted at the entrance.

The Children's Hospital of Alabama is the 10th busiest pediatric medical center in the United States. The UAB Division of Pediatric Hematology and Oncology at Children's Hospital is Alabama's single largest provider of specialized pediatric services for all forms of cancer, leukemia, brain and spinal cord tumors, hemophilia and other bleeding disorders and sickle cell diseases.

It is also home to the Lowder Bone Marrow Transplant program, the only pediatric bone marrow transplant program in the state. Ninety-five percent of the children in Alabama diagnosed with childhood cancer and other blood disorders are treated by the UAB Division of Pediatric Hematology and Oncology at Children's Hospital.