Feb. 14, 2003

Samford hits the road this weekend for a nonconference baseball series at Nicholls State in Thibodeaux, La. Friday's first pitch is scheduled for 6:30 p.m while Saturday's and Sunday's games are both set to start at 1 p.m. Fans can follow live game action via gametracker at www.samfordsports.com.

The Bulldogs lost their last outting to No. 20 Auburn Tuesday, 10-1, at Plainsman Park. Freshman Justin Klinger hit a solo home run in the top of the third inning for his first career hit to provide Samford's lone run. Five Auburn pitchers combined for 12 strikeouts. Samford only mustered five hits while Tiger hitters torched Samford pitching for 19 hits. Klinger finished 1-for-2 with one RBI and one run scored. Robert Evans, Heath Owen, Michael Collins and Kip Snowden each had one hit for the Bulldogs.

Nicholls State dropped three games to Troy State last weekend, 7-6, 19-6 and 8-2. Brad Dantanio is hitting .526 with four RBI to lead the Colonels. Dantanio went 9-for-14 in the Troy State series. Kade Rogers is right behind Dantanio, hitting .471 with two RBI. On the mound, Robbie Hebert anchors the Colonels with a 0.75 ERA in 12 innings pitched. Hebert has only allowed one earned run while striking out 16 batters. The Colonels are hitting .316 as a team while the pitching staff has compiled a 3.61 ERA.

Senior right-hander Frank Allen Yeilding will get the start Friday night. The Colonels wil counter with Robbie Hebert. Yeilding threw 3.2 innings of shutout baseball against VMI last Saturday to earn his first win of the season.

Last Time against Nicholls State, Kevin Cook's solo home run broke open a 3-3 tie and Nicholls State added two extra runs in the top of the eighth inning as the Colonels squeezed by Samford, 6-5 at Joe Lee Griffin Field. Nicholls State stayed perfect at 8-0 while the Bulldogs dropped their second consecutive game to fall to 4-2 overall. Samford committed four errors in the game - one coming in the eighth inning which allowed the Colonels to score two unearned runs with two outs. Both teams finished with nine hits in the contest but two of the Colonels' hits were home runs. . Samford is 2-4 against Nicholls State under Parenton. The Colonels rallied for a 6-5 victory last season in Birmingham.

The Bulldogs quickly begin Atlantic Sun Conference play. Samford hosts Jacksonville in the conference opening series for both teams. First pitch is scheduled for 3 p.m. next Friday. Saturday's doubleheader will begin at 1 p.m.