Nashville --- Samford used a four run eighth inning to capture a 6-3 win in game one but TSU came back to win a 7-2 decision in game two on Friday night at Tiger Field.
Tennessee State moves to 16-34, 8-15 OVC while Samford goes to 19-27 overall and 10-13 in the OVC.
TSU's starting pitcher Amanda Vaught retired the first batter that she faced then gave up consecutive hits to the next three batters. In addition to the three hits, a stolen base and a walk led to Samford capturing a 2-0 lead, prompting a pitching change.
Ashley Block entered in relief of Vaught and recorded the next two outs to keep anymore runs from scoring.
The Tigers erased the Bulldog lead in their half of the inning and evened the game 2-2. With one out, Tamara Perkins tripled to right center and then scored when Bridget Metzger doubled down the left field line. That prompted another early pitching change as Margaret Carter came in for Amanda Barrs.
Two batters later, Royesha Goodman doubled down the left field line to plate Metzger. Christy Hill came in to pinch run for Goodman and tried to score on a hit from Nichole Vincent but was gunned down at the plate for the third out of the inning.
In the top of the second, Samford had two runners on base with no outs but TSU turned a triple play to get out of the inning unscathed. TSU loaded the bases in the fourth but ended up stranding the runners on base.
Vaught returned to the mound for TSU in the top of the fifth and was able to erase another Samford threat. The Bulldogs had the bases loaded with nobody out but Vaught pitched her way out of the inning, leaving three Samford runners on base.
Although both teams had scoring opportunities throughout the game, neither team posted another run in regulation forcing the contest into extra innings.
In the eighth inning, Samford loaded the bases for the third time on the night, sparking a scoring rally. With two outs and the bases filled Jeslyn Metcalf singled to knock in two runs. The next batter tripled to right center to plate two more runs and give Samford a 6-2 lead.
Two walks and a hit led to TSU loading the bases with no outs in the bottom of the eighth. Jennifer Gregory singled to center to score Katie Anderson and cut the deficit to 6-3 but TSU would strand three runners on base as Samford went on to win game one.
Vaught fell to 11-23 as Kayla Burris improved to 7-7 on the season. Nichole Vincent was 2-for-3 for TSU.
The Tigers posted a season-high tying seven runs on six hits in the second game of the double header. The game was scoreless until Tamara Perkins hit a towering two-run shot over the left field wall in the bottom of the third. TSU then added two more runs in the fourth behind a hit, a walk and three Samford errors.
The Bulldogs got on the board in the top of the fifth when Kyle Harmon scored on a hit by Jessica Owens. Owens would later score to cut the deficit to 4-2 but that would be Samford's last run of the game.
TSU used a three hit, three run inning in the bottom of the fifth to increase the advantage to 7-2. Samford once again managed to load the bases in the top of the seventh but Block threw two strike outs and forced a pop up to end the inning and seal the win.
Lauren Weber picked up her fifth win of the season while Tamara Perkins recorded a team leading two RBI's for TSU.
Tennessee State and Samford will play the rubber match of the series tomorrow at 1 p.m.
