March 1, 2008

Game 1 Box Score

Game 2 Box Score

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The Samford baseball team split a doubleheader with Saint Louis University Saturday afternoon at Joe Lee Griffin Field. Samford dropped the first game, 5-4, and the Bulldogs took game two by a score of 8-5.

With the split, Samford's record moves to 3-4 on the season.

In game one, Saint Louis scored four runs in the eighth inning to earn a come-from-behind 5-4 win. Samford was led at the plate by Michael Johnson, going 2-for-4 with an RBI. John Morgan was 2-for-3 with an RBI, and Michael Rutledge drove in two runs in a 1-for-4 performance.

Kyle Nichols pitched 1.2 innings in relief, giving up a run on two hits to take the loss on the mound for the Bulldogs.

Saint Louis was led at the plate by Brandon Parsons, going 3-for-5, while David Blackwell was 3-for-4. J.D. Dunn and Andrew Guerra each homered for the Billikens. Scott Turmail pitched 7.0 innings, giving up four runs on seven hits and striking out six batters to pick up the win for the Billikens.

Saint Louis struck first with a run in the top of the second inning. Blackwell scored from third base when Ziggy Moore grounded out to first base for a 1-0 Saint Louis lead.

Samford came back with three runs in the bottom of the third inning to take a 3-1 lead. Morgan scored from third base when Johnson reached base on a bunt single for Samford's first run of the game. Rutledge later singled to left field to drive in Johnson and Alex Godshall to give Samford a two-run lead.

The Bulldogs added a run in the fourth inning to push their lead to 4-1. Morgan singled to left field to drive in Tripp Swann for Samford's fourth run of the game.

Saint Louis plated four runs in the top of the eighth inning to take a 5-4 lead. Dunn hit a two-run home run and Guerra hit a solo shot to tie the score at 4-4. Blackwell later scored on a Samford wild pitch to give SLU the lead.

In game two for Samford, Rutledge was 2-for-3 with a home run and three RBI. David Knapp was the winning pitcher for Samford, tossing 4.1 innings, giving up just two earned runs on seven hits and striking out seven batters.

For SLU in game two, Tom Pinnell was 2-for-3 with a home run and three RBI. Zach Outman pitched a third of an inning, giving up four runs on three hits to take the loss on the mound.

Samford plated four runs in the first inning to take an early 4-0 lead. Michael Marseco singled to drive in Godshall for the game's first run. Rutledge then doubled down the left-field line to drive in Johnson. Bill Whitehead later hit a sacrifice fly to score Marseco for a three-run Samford lead. Rutledge scored the final run of the inning when P.J. Fandetti was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded.

Saint Louis came back with a run in the top of the second inning. B.J. Rodrigue scored on a Samford error to make the score 4-1. The Billikens then added another run in the top of the fourth inning when Tom Pinnell hit a sacrifice fly to bring in Mike Beal to make the score 4-2.

Samford added two more runs in the bottom of the fourth inning when Rutledge hit a two-run home run to left field with Johnson on base to make the score 6-2.

The Billikens added another run in the top of the fifth inning to cut the Samford lead to 6-3. Dunn hit a sacrifice fly to drive in Parsons. SLU put two more runs on the board in the sixth inning when Pinnell homered to center field to make the score 6-5.

Samford added two runs in the bottom of the sixth inning to make the final score 8-5. Marcus Rodriguez doubled down the left-field line to drive in the game's final two runs.

Samford will return to action on Tuesday, Mar. 4, when the Bulldogs play at South Alabama. The game is scheduled for a 6 p.m. start.