April 19, 2008

Game One Box Score
Game Two Box Score

CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. - Michael Marseco went a combined 7-for-10 with two home runs and five RBI as the Samford baseball team split an Ohio Valley Conference doubleheader at Southeast Missouri on Saturday. Samford won game one, 11-6, and SEMO took game two, which was scheduled for seven innings, by a score of 11-10 in eight innings.

With the split, Samford is now 23-13 overall and 10-3 in OVC play. SEMO is now 15-16 overall and 6-6 in league play.

With his performance, Marseco extended his career-long hitting streak to 21 games.

In game one, Marseco went 4-for-5 with two home runs, a double and five RBI. Bill Whitehead was 3-for-6 with two RBI, and Michael Johnson was 3-for-6 for Samford in game one.

Jonathan Stephens improved his record to 6-0, pitching 7.0 innings, giving up one earned run on eight hits to pick up the win.

For SEMO in game one, Justin Wheeler went 2-for-4 with a home run and two RBI. Tyrell Cummings and Trenton Moses each went 2-for-4 in the game. Dustin Renfrow pitched 5.0 innings, giving up nine runs on 11 hits to take the loss.

Samford jumped on top first with two runs in the top of the first inning. A single by Johnson, a double by Marseco and a walk to Michael Rutledge loaded the bases for the Bulldogs. Bear Burnett was then hit by a pitch to bring in Johnson for the game's first run. Tripp Swann then reached base on an infield single to drive in Marseco for a 2-0 Samford lead.

Samford added four runs in the top of the fourth inning. The bulk of the runs in the inning came on Marseco's three-run home run to right-center field with Johnson and Whitehead on base to give Samford a 6-0 lead.

After SEMO plated two runs in the bottom of the fifth inning, Samford came back with three runs in the top of the sixth to push the Samford lead to 9-2. Whitehead, Bear Burnett and Marcus Rodriguez drove in a run each for Samford in the inning.

Samford added two runs in the top of the seventh inning when Marseco hit his second home run of the game, this one a two-run shot with Whitehead on base to make the score 11-2. SEMO added a run in the seventh inning and three in the eighth to make the final score 11-6.

In the second game, Marseco went 3-for-5 with a double and a triple at the plate. Burnett and Drew Reagan had two hits and two RBI each. Kyle Nichols pitched the final 2.2 innings, giving up four runs on four hits to take the loss.

SEMO was led by Cummings in game two, going 3-for-5 with an RBI. Nick Harris hit two home runs in the game and Wheeler had one home run for the Redhawks. Todd Strahlendorf pitched 2.1 innings, giving up two runs on three hits to earn the win.

Samford entered the bottom of the seventh inning with an 8-7 lead, but Wheeler led the inning off with a solo home run to tie the score at 8-8 send the game into extra innings.

Samford plated two runs in the top of the eighth inning to take a 10-8 lead. Pinch-hitter Bo Smith singled to drive in Marseco for the first run of the inning. Reagan then singled to drive in Burnett to give Samford a two-run lead.

Harris led the bottom of the eighth inning off with a solo home run to make the score 10-9. Tony Spencer later doubled to drive in Zachary Blemker to tie the score at 10-10. The game-winning run was scored when Cummings singled to drive in Spencer to give SEMO the 11-10 win.

The same two teams will wrap up their three-game series with a single game on Sunday at 1 p.m. Fans can follow the game live on the internet via GameTracker at the link below.

GameTracker For Game 3