Belmont University’s softball team began their participation in the Samford Tournament on Friday in Birmingham, Alabama, splitting their first two games. The Bruins fell to North Alabama 9-5 in the opener but rebounded with a 5-0 shutout victory over host Samford at the Samford Softball Stadium.
In the first game against North Alabama, Belmont took an early lead after scoring in the second inning. However, North Alabama responded with three runs in their half of the inning and continued to build on that advantage with home runs in subsequent innings. Despite a two-run home run by Hughes in the fourth and additional offense from Konz and another solo homer late in the game, Belmont’s comeback attempt was not enough as they lost 9-5. Three pitchers combined for six innings of work for Belmont, each recording a strikeout.
The Bruins turned things around against Samford. They opened scoring with a two-run double in the second inning and added another run on an RBI double by . Productive outs extended their lead further: a sacrifice fly brought home Spindler in the fourth inning, and another sac fly by Ozim scored Spindler again in the sixth.
Belmont’s pitcher delivered a complete-game shutout performance, allowing only four hits while striking out 15 batters without giving up any runs. Offensively, Spindler contributed two runs scored and an RBI; Konz had two RBIs; Balsiger collected three hits and scored once.
Belmont is set to continue play at the Samford Tournament on Saturday with games against Lindenwood and a rematch versus North Alabama. Fans can follow live stats at belmontbruins.com.
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