Feb. 21, 2003

Samford hosts Jacksonville this weekend in the Atlantic Sun Conference Series opener for both teams. Friday's first-pitch is scheduled for 3 p.m. with Saturday's doubleheader set to begin at 1 p.m. weather permitting.

The Bulldogs (2-5) dropped three games to Nicholls State last weekend. The Colonels held off Samford, 3-2, in 12 innings in game one, then knocked off the Bulldogs, 14-4 and 13-8. Senior center fielder Sae Evans went 7-for-15 with six RBI and two runs scored against Nicholls State. Senior-right hander Frank Allen Yeilding and freshman Stephen Artz combined for 11 strikeouts in the first game of the series. Thus far in the season, Samford is hitting .249 and has a team ERA of 6.44. Saturday's game will be a rematch of the Bulldogs final game last season. The Dolphins knocked Samford out of the Atlantic Sun Conference Tournament.

Jacksonville (1-5) enters the conference opener hitting .253 as a team. The Dolphins lost three straight games to South Florida. Orlando Diaz leads the team with a .444 batting average. Diaz also has five RBI. Darren Truty anchors the pitching staff with a 3.60 ERA. As a staff, Dolphin pitchers have a 6.21 ERA. Jacksonville's lone win came against Florida A&M, 4-3, in its season opener.

Last time against Jacksonville, the Dolphins scored five runs in the top of the ninth to spoil Samford's comeback and eliminate the Bulldogs from the A-Sun tournament last May in DeLand, Fla. The Dolphins led 6-1 heading into the bottom of the eighth inning. Samford scored five runs tying the game, 6-6. Sae Evans went 2-for-3 against the Dolphins. Jacksonville took the regular season series from the Bulldogs winning two of the three games.

Jacksonville is 10-2 against the Bulldogs under Parenton. The Dolphins wont three of the four meetings last season.

Samford plays a mid-week game next when it hosts cross-town rival UAB at 3 p.m. Wednesday.