March 16, 2006

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The Samford baseball team will play a three-game series at Arkansas State this weekend.

Samford enters the game with a record of 8-8 after winning two-of-three games from Longwood over the weekend. Arkansas State is currently 9-9 after a 10-8 loss to Ole Miss Tuesday night.

Heading into this weekend, Parker Gargis currently leads Samford with a .354 batting average. Gargis is also second on the team with four doubles and 12 RBI. Louis Rojas leads the team in RBI with 14 and hits with 21, while Luke Peavy leads the team in doubles with five. Rojas, Peavy, Drew Reagan and Joseph Ballew have one home run apiece so far this season.

Newcomers have played a significant role for Samford so far this season. Eight position players and nine pitchers have made their Samford debut in 2006. Two of the team's top four hitters (Rojas and Peavy) are in their first season in a Samford uniform.

So far this season, Samford is 3-5 in road games. The Bulldogs have won road games at 19th-ranked Ole Miss, Montevallo and UAB. In all this season, the Bulldogs have 31 road games on the 2006 schedule.

The teams will play games on Friday at 6:30 p.m., and Saturday and Sunday at 1:00 p.m. All three games can be heard locally on WVSU-FM 91.1, or worldwide on the internet at www.al.com/wvsu or www.samfordsports.com