Oct. 26, 2001

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - Samford's Baseball Team will start to wrap up fall practice Saturday morning when the Bulldogs play their blue-red fall game at Joe Lee Griffin Field at 10 a.m. The intra-squad game will feature Samford's 27-man roster, which includes 11 newcomers.

The Bulldogs finished 20-34 overall and 12-15 in the conference in 2001. Head coach Tim Parenton has been pleased with the work his team has been able to get accomplished this fall.

"Fall has gone really well. We've had a lot of competition. This is really the first time in four years that we've had two or three players at each position to have some competition to win jobs for the spring semester and into the fall," Parenton said. "Our pitching has showed us what we thought we would see when we signed the pitchers we did sign (the young ones) and the old ones came back ready to go."

The Bulldogs have been playing through a couple of injuries. Three-year starter Major Allred had arm surgery during the off-season but is expected back come February.

"For the most part, we've stayed healthy during the fall. I like our guys. They play hard. They work hard. They've been in the weight room and haven't stopped lifting the weights and academically they're doing what they're supposed to do," Parenton said.

Samford will divide its roster evenly for Saturday morning's game. Each pitcher will throw 1/2 of an inning. The Bulldogs will play about seven innings. After the game, there will be a luncheon for players and parents. The loser of the blue-red game has to serve the winner lunch.