April 21, 2004

Box Score

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. - The Samford baseball team fell behind 2-0 in the third inning, but came back with 10 runs over the next four innings on its way to a 10-5 victory over the Alabama Crimson Tide Wednesday night at Sewell-Thomas Stadium.

The game marks the first time Samford has beaten Alabama in back-to-back games since the Bulldogs beat the Crimson Tide in 1963 and again in 1964. Samford defeated Alabama, 8-2 in Tuscaloosa last season.

"It was just a great night for us," Samford head coach Tim Parenton said. "Our guys played hard. We hit some balls out of their reach and it really worked out for us."

Alabama (23-16) put the first two runs on the board in the bottom of the third inning when Emeel Salem hit a two-run home run to left-center field with David Ferazza on base to give the Crimson Tide a 2-0 lead.

Samford (7-26) came back with three runs in the top of the fourth inning to take a 3-2 lead. Garrett Rice drove in the Bulldogs' first run when he doubled down the right field line to score Joe Denson. Trey Moody then singled to center field to drive in Rice to tie the game at 2-2. The Bulldogs took the lead when Parker Gargis singled to center field to score Moody.

The Bulldogs increased their lead to 6-2 with three runs in the top of the sixth inning. Samford loaded the bases with three-straight infield hits to begin the inning. Moody then singled to left field to drive in Matt Alling for the inning's first run. Gargis then hit into a double play, but Rice scored on the play to make the score 5-2. Richard Bishop then singled up the middle to score Eric Hollis for a four-run lead.

Samford plated four more runs in the seventh inning to increase its lead to 10-2. Hollis singled to right field to score Michael Collins to make the score 7-2. Moody then hit a sacrifice fly to left field to score Denson, and Alling scored on an error on the same play to give the Bulldogs a 9-2 lead. Samford scored its 10th run of the game when Gargis singled to drive in Hollis.

The Crimson Tide plated a run in the seventh, one in the eighth and another in the ninth to make the final score 10-5.

At the plate, Samford was led by Moody, going 2-for-3 with three RBI. Gargis went 2-for-4 with two RBI on the night. Stephen Artz pitched 5.0 innings, giving up two runs on four hits and striking out four batters to pick up the win.

Alabama was led by Mark Haske, going 2-for-5, and Salem, who drove in three runs in a 1-for-5 performance.

Samford will return to action on Saturday, April 24, when the Bulldogs play a doubleheader at Eastern Kentucky. The first pitch for game one is scheduled for 1:00 p.m. Eastern Time.