Feb. 19, 2006

Box Score

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - Louis Rojas hit a three-run home run to right field with two outs in the bottom of the eighth inning to lift the Samford baseball team to a 6-5 win over the Troy Trojans Sunday afternoon at Joe Lee Griffin Field.

"It was really good to see our kids battle back," Samford head coach Casey Dunn said. "Both innings where they scored, we came back and answered with as many runs or more, which was encouraging to see. And, Louis Rojas, for the second game in a row got a huge hit to put us ahead, and that is why he is here and hitting in the middle of the order."

For the game, Rojas was 3-for-5 with three RBI to lead Samford (2-1) at the plate. Matt Alling went 2-for-4 at the plate with an RBI, and he made a key diving catch to end the top of the eighth and save a run for the Bulldogs.

"Matt Alling's catch, in the top of the eighth when we were down, didn't seem that big at the time. But now when you look back, that was the difference in the game," Dunn said.

Samford's Stephen Artz (1-0) got the final out in the top of the eighth inning to earn the win. Joseph Edens pitched the ninth inning to earn his first save of the season.

For Troy (3-3), Josh Blackwell went 2-for-3. Clint Robinson drove in a run for the Trojans. Joe Hallahan (0-1) pitched 2.2 innings, giving up three runs on one hit to take the loss for Troy.

Troy jumped on top first with two runs in the top of the fifth inning. Dru Rymer and Josh Blackwell scored the runs, both on a Samford error.

Samford answered with three runs in the bottom of the fifth to take a 3-2 lead. Bear Burnett hit a sacrifice fly to left field to drive in Rojas to make the score 2-1. Alling then singled to left field to drive in Drew Reagan to tie the score. Samford took the lead when Luke Peavy singled through the left side of the infield to score Garrett Rice.

Troy retook the lead at 5-3 with three runs in the top of the eighth inning. Robinson singled up the middle to drive in Daniel Porter to tie the score at 3-3. Robinson and Ian Craze each scored on wild pitches to give the Trojans the two-run lead. Alling's two-out catch prevented the Trojans from adding another run and set the stage for Rojas' go-ahead home run.

Samford will return to action on Tuesday, Feb. 21, when the Bulldogs play at Ole Miss. The game is scheduled for 3:00 p.m. from Oxford, Miss.