April 17, 2002
Samford travels to No. 2 Alabama tonight for a mid-week nonconference game. Game time is set for 6:30 p.m. instead of 7 p.m.
The Bulldogs (19-18) look to snap a four-game losing streak, the longest of the season, against Alabama. Samford went 0-4 last week with a 7-2 loss to Miss. State and three losses to Atlantic Sun foe Troy St. on the road over the weekends, 7-6, 10-1 and 7-6. The Bulldogs enter the midweek nonconference match, hitting .324 as a team. Junior right fielder Robert Evans leads the charge hitting .362. Samford is 1-2 against SEC opponents after splitting with Auburn and losing to MSU last week.
In this past weekend's series with the Trojans, Samford dropped two one-run decisions and Troy St. used four-run and five-run innings in the other contest as the Trojans swept the Atlantic Sun Conference series from the Bulldogs. The Trojans rallied three times in the first game of the series. After Samford took a 6-4 lead in the top of the eighth, Troy St. scored three runs in the bottom of the inning to win. In game two, the Trojans jumped on starter Alan Bryan for four runs in the first and scored five runs in the fourth to defeat the Bulldogs. In the final game of the series, Samford took an 2-0 lead but Troy St. rallied again with four runs, three unearned, in the fifth as the Trojans held on for the 7-6 win. Robert Evans led Samford over the weekend, going 5-for-13 with a two-run home run and three RBI. Junior first baseman Heath Owen hit two solo home runs in the final game of the series, bring his season total to seven home runs.
The Crimson Tide (32-5) swept Kentucky over the weekend, moving up to No. 2 in the Collegiate Baseball Poll. Alabama outscored the Wildcats, 36-14 in the three games. Alabama is hitting .316 as a team and has a 2.99 team ERA. Peter Stonard leads the team with a .405 batting average with 11 doubles, four homers and 26 RBI.
Alabama will start right-hander Jared Woodward (3-1, 3.59) on the mound while Samford will counter with senior right-hander Major Allred (0-0, 2.00 ERA)
Robert Evans had his 26-game hitting streak snapped in the second game of the conference series with Troy St, but Evans went 3-for-5 with a two-run home run in the final game of the series to continue his hot hitting. Evans is hitting .362 on the season with 24 RBI. Senior left fielder Cory Sumner continues on somewhat of a hot streak as well. Sumner has scored 11 runs in the last 11 games to give him 39 runs scored on the season. Sumner has 138 total career runs scored which moved him ahead of Brooks Souders on the all-time career runs scored list. He also leads the team in doubles (10) and hits (50).
Samford returns home to host Jacksonville St. in a key Atlantic Sun Conference series this weekend. Friday's game is set for 6 p.m. while Saturday's doubleheader will start at 1 p.m.
