Samford softball led off its fall season with an alumni game that brought together multiple eras of the program as first-year head coach Tyra Perry starts hers.
At 10 a.m. on Saturday, Oct. 3, Samford’s softball players lined up against the players that donned the jerseys before them.
“It’s crazy,” alumni Ansley Antis said on being back on the field. “It’s a lot of fun, a lot more fun now that there’s no batting average being kept.”
The game got off to a slow start without either team being able to earn a run. In the second inning, the team was able to notch their first run, but it wasn’t until the end of the game that the game broke open and the current players were able to run up the score.
The team did not tally an official score, however.
“We think it was like six or seven or something like that,” Perry said. “I haven’t seen them in game, so this is my chance to see them. But thinking about lineups and batting orders and all of those things, it’s fun to watch our team compete against other teams.”
For the alumni, the game was more to have a fun Saturday morning and support their community.
“I hit one ball in fair territory, so I’m happy about that,” Antis said. “We kept it close until they, like the 6th inning, and then they turned it on us.”
The current roster also had fun, but for them the game was crucial to get a good start to the season.
“Just getting out there with all my teammates was super fun for the first time and just getting hits,” Annie Gregory, a junior transfer, said. “Fall season is just to get like reps and get better so we can go into the spring ready to play and beat everyone in conference.”
The emphasis on community, however, is what made this matchup so special.
“It really just resonates with what I feel Samford is about, community and family,” Perry said. “I feel like I’ve known the alums even though I’m meeting them for the first time, they’re just so welcoming and so warm.”
The alumni also loved getting to stay a part of the community.
“Getting to see some of the girls that I played with, I played with the senior class was a lot of fun and seeing how successful they’re going to be during the senior year was a lot of fun,” Antis said. “So, I was super happy when they reached out and asked me to play.”
Perry hopes that this event becomes an annual thing.
“This was our first one and we just had great support and all of the alums seem to be happy and excited, and they’re talking about bringing more people in the future,” Perry said. “We’re going to try to keep it on the same weekend so that the alums can plan and know that they’re coming and bringing their families.”
Sports Editor
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