April 27, 2004

Box Score

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The Samford baseball team fell behind early and could not catch up as the Bulldogs fell to the 13th-ranked Auburn Tigers, 6-2 in front of 1,089 fans at Joe Lee Griffin Field Tuesday night.

Auburn (29-14) jumped on top with four runs in the top of the first inning. After loading the bases with no outs, Clete Thomas grounded out to score J.T. Williamson for the game's first run. Sean Gamble then singled up the middle to score Tug Hulett and Chuck Jeroloman for a 3-0 Tiger lead. Ben Maitland then doubled to drive in Gamble to make the score 4-0.

The Tigers increased their lead to 5-0 in the top of the sixth inning when Maitland doubled to score Gamble.

Auburn scored its final run of the game in the top of the seventh inning. Josh Bell hit a sacrifice fly to left field to score Hulett for a 6-0 Auburn lead.

Samford (10-27) plated two runs in the bottom of the ninth inning to make the final score 6-2. Joe Denson grounded out to drive in Justin Worthington for the first run, and Matt Alling hit a sacrifice fly to center field to drive in Michael Collins for the game's final run.

Samford was led by Collins, going 2-for-4. Alling extended his hitting streak to 17 games, the longest for a Samford player this season, with a 1-for-3 performance at the plate. Parker Gargis started the game on the mound and pitched the first 5.0 innings, giving up five runs on six hits to take the loss.

For Auburn, Gamble was 3-for-4 with two RBI, and Maitland was 2-for-2 with two RBI. Cory Dueitt pitched 6.0 innings, surrendering no runs on two hits to pick up the win for the Tigers.

Samford will return to action on Wednesday, April 28, when the Bulldogs play host to Alabama A&M in a doubleheader. The first pitch is scheduled for 3:00 p.m. at Joe Lee Griffin Field.