March 27, 2004

JACKSONVILLE, Ala. - The Samford baseball team was swept in its Ohio Valley Conference-opening series at Jacksonville State on Saturday. Samford fell 7-3 in the first game, and 4-0 in the seven-inning second.

In the first game, Samford's (4-16, 0-2 OVC) Matt Alling went 5-for-5 with three RBI. Parker Gargis started on the mound, pitching 6.1 innings, giving up five runs on eight hits to take the loss and drop his season record to 0-3. JSU (8-13, 2-0 OVC) was led by Jake Ball, going 2-for-4 with two RBI, and C.R. Palmer pitched 7.0 innings, surrendering three runs on seven hits to pick up the win.

Jacksonville State got on the board first in game one when the Gamecocks plated three runs in the bottom of the second inning. Jake Ball hit a double to drive in Matt Ruckdeschel for a 1-0 Gamecock lead. Bobby Hicks then hit a two-run home run to right field with Ball on base to make the score 3-0.

Samford cut the lead to 3-1 with a run in the top of the third inning. Alling singled through the right side to score Michael Collins for the Bulldogs' first run of the game.

JSU pushed its lead to 5-1 with two runs in the bottom of the third. Ruckdeschel tripled to score Scott Smith, and Ball followed with another triple to bring in Ruckdeschel.

Samford scored another run in the top of the fifth. Alling doubled to score Trey Moody to cut the JSU lead to 5-2. The bulldogs then plated another run in the top of the seventh when Alling singled to drive in Justin Worthington to make the score 5-3.

Jax State added two runs in the bottom of the eighth inning to make the final score 7-3. Smith tripled to right center to score Danny Civello for the first run. Horn later singled to left field to bring in Shundell Russaw with the game's final run.

In the second game, Garrett Rice led Samford, going 2-for-3. Joseph Edens pitched 6.0 innings, giving up just three earned runs in taking the loss. Civello led the Gamecocks, driving in two runs in a 1-for-3 performance. Bobby Wynns threw 7.0 innings, giving up no runs on just four hits to pick up the win.

Jacksonville State, once again, jumped on top early in game two. The Gamecocks plated one run in the bottom of the first inning when Austin Stein tripled to score John Prosser to give the Gamecocks a 1-0 lead.

The Gamecocks made the score 4-0 with three runs in the bottom of the third inning. Civello singled to score Hicks and Prosser for the first two runs. The third run of the inning was scored when Ruckdeschel hit a sacrifice fly to center field to score Stein for the game's final run.

Samford and Jacksonville State will conclude the series with a nine-inning single game on Sunday. The first pitch is scheduled for 1:00 p.m.