April 9, 2008

Box Score

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - Samford freshman catcher Gary Cramer hit a grand slam for his first collegiate hit in the eighth inning, but it was not enough, as the Bulldog baseball team dropped a 10-6 decision Wednesday night at UAB.

Samford drops to 18-11 with the loss, while the Blazers improve to 14-17.

For Samford at the plate, Alex Godshall was 2-for-4. Cramer's grand slam came in his lone at-bat in the game. Tripp Swann hit his first home run of the season in a 1-for-3 performance. Michael Marseco extended his current hitting streak to 14 games, going 1-for-3 at the plate. Grant Sides pitched 4.0 innings, giving up five runs on five hits to take the loss.

For UAB, Brandon Flaherty tossed 1.0 inning in relief to earn the win on the mound. Nick Crawford, Phil Bell, Ryan Keedy and Brint Hardy had two hits each for the Blazers.

Samford jumped on top first with a run in the top of the second inning. Swann hit a solo home run to right field to give Samford a 1-0 lead. The home run was the second of Swann's Samford career, with his other home run coming last season at UAB.

The Bulldogs pushed their lead to 2-0 with a run in the top of the second inning. Wayne Miller reached base on an infield single to drive in Godshall, who had led the inning off with a single to give Samford a two-run lead.

UAB came back with a run in the bottom of the third inning to cut the Samford lead to 2-1. Hardy reached base on a Samford error to lead the inning off. Hardy then stole second base and moved to third on another Samford error. Jonathan Merritt then hit a sacrifice fly to drive in Hardy for the Blazers' first run of the game.

UAB added two runs in the bottom of the fourth inning to take a 3-2 lead. Keedy led the inning off with a solo home run to tie the score. The Blazers took the lead when Allen Aubin singled to right field and Austin Taylor scored on the play.

The Blazers plated two more runs in the bottom of the fifth inning to make the score 5-2. Bell and Keedy drove in a run each in the inning for UAB. The Blazers scored two more runs in the bottom of the sixth inning and three more in the seventh to make the score 10-2.

Cramer's grand slam to right field, with Stephen Ballard, Matthew Bennett and Bill Whitehead on base, came in the eighth inning to make the final score 10-6.

Samford will return to action Saturday, April 12, when the Bulldogs play host to Austin Peay in an Ohio Valley Conference doubleheader, beginning at 1 p.m. The teams will also play a single game Sunday at 1 p.m. All three games can be heard locally on WVSU-FM 91.1, or worldwide on the internet at www.samford.edu/groups/wvsu/.