May 23, 2008

Box Score

PADUCAH, Ky. - The Tennessee Tech baseball team plated four runs in the first inning and two in the second to jump out to an early lead on its way to a 9-1 win over Samford in an elimination game at the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament Friday afternoon at Brooks Stadium.

The loss ends the 2008 season for Samford. The Bulldogs end the season with a record of 33-23. The 33 wins are the second most in the history of the program. The tournament was the final OVC championship event for any Samford team, as Samford will be moving to the Southern Conference on July 1. Tennessee Tech improves to 35-22-1 with the win.

"This was a disappointing week, but this is a special group of guys," Samford head coach Casey Dunn said. "I think that's what makes it even tougher. With what these guys have gone through over 50-plus games, and to have the effort and the heart they have and to not see them succeed is tough to take."

In the loss, Samford left nine runners on base, and the Bulldogs committed four errors in the field.

Junior short stop Michael Marseco was 2-for-3 with a triple in the game. Marseco also had two triples in Thursday's game, making him the first player to ever have three triples in an OVC Tournament. Marseco ends the season with a .419 batting average, the highest single-season average in the modern-day history of the Samford program.

Tripp Swann and Michael Johnson also had two hits each for Samford. Wayne Miller drove in Samford's lone run of the game in a 1-for-4 performance. Trent Hill started the game on the mound for Samford, pitching two-thirds of an inning, giving up four runs on four hits to take the loss.

Tennessee Tech was led at the plate by Jake New, going 3-for-4 with a home run, a triple and four RBI. Alex Henry also had three hits for the Golden Eagles. Jared Dobbs pitched the complete game for Tech, giving up one run on eight hits. Dobbs struck out seven batters, while walking just two.

Tennessee Tech plated four runs in the bottom of the first inning to take an early 4-0 lead. Henry walked to lead the inning off. With one out, New hit a two-run home run to right field for the first two runs of the game. After a single by Chris King, Evan Webb doubled to drive in King to make the score 3-0. Sean Reilly then doubled to drive in Webb for a four-run Tech lead.

The Golden Eagles added two runs in the bottom of the second inning to push their lead to 6-0. Matt Mihoci reached base on a Samford error to start the inning. After a single by Henry, New tripled to drive in Mihoci and Henry for a 6-0 Golden Eagle advantage.

Tech pushed its lead to 8-0 with two runs in the fourth inning. With one out in the inning, Henry reached base and advanced to second base on another Samford error. Thomas Nelson then singled to center field to drive in Henry to make the score 7-0. After a fly out by New, King singled to drive in Nelson for an eight-run Tennessee Tech lead.

The Golden Eagles added one final run in the bottom of the sixth inning. Henry led the inning off with a single, and then moved to second base on a Samford error. New then singled to drive in Henry for a 9-0 Tech lead.

Samford plated its lone run of the game in the top of the ninth inning. Pinch-hitter Drew Reagan singled with one out in the inning. Miller followed Reagan's single with a double to drive in Reagan to make the final score 9-1.