March 18, 2009

Box Score

NASHVILLE, Tenn. - The Samford baseball team built a seven-run lead in the sixth inning and held on late for an 11-9 win at Lipscomb Wednesday night at Dugan Field.

Matthew Bennett went 3-for-6 to lead Samford at the plate. Wayne Miller, David Schulze and Austin Allison had two hits each for the Bulldogs. Kyle Putkonen pitched 5.0 innings, giving up just two earned runs on seven hits to earn the win. Kyle Nichols tossed the final inning to earn his third save of the season.

For Lipscomb at the plate, Justin Sanders was 3-for-4 with a home run and three RBI. Tyler Wilson, Tennyson Dodd, Allen Bolden and Antonio Butler had two hits each. Davey Hackett pitched 3.1 innings, giving up four runs on four hits to take the loss.

Samford got on the scoreboard first with a run in the top of the first inning. Miller was hit by a pitch to lead the game off. Stephen Ballard then walked and Mason Meredeth singled to load the bases. Miller scored when Schulze grounded into a double play for a 1-0 Samford lead.

Lipscomb answered with a run in the bottom of the first inning to tie the score at 1-1. M.L. Williams singled to lead the inning off. Williams moved to third base on a Samford error and then scored when Dodd singled up the middle to tie the score.

Samford regained the lead with a run in the top of the second inning. Trey Hayes walked to start the inning and later scored on a Lipscomb error to give Samford a 2-1 lead.

Lipscomb took the lead with two runs in the bottom of the third inning. Wilson reached base on a single and later scored from third base on a passed ball. Sanders, who also reached base on a single, scored from third base when Branden Cadavid hit a sacrifice fly to center field to give the Bisons a 3-2 lead.

Samford plated two runs in the top of the fourth inning to take a 4-3 lead. Hayes singled through the left side of the infield and later scored on a Lipscomb error to tie the score. Joe Durham scored from third base when Allison reached base on a bunt single to give Samford a one-run lead.

Samford added six runs in the top of the sixth inning to push its lead to 10-3. Schulze had a three-run double in the inning, and Ballard, Hayes and Allison each drove in a run in the inning for the Bulldogs.

Lipscomb came back with five runs in the bottom of the sixth inning to cut the Samford lead to 10-8. The majority of the damage in the inning was done when Sanders hit a three-run home run to center field.

Lipscomb closed to within one run with a run in the bottom of the eighth inning. Dodd singled to drive in Butler to make the score 10-9.

Samford plated one final run in the top of the ninth inning to make the final score 11-9. Miller reached base on a Lipscomb error and later scored on another error for the game's final run.

With the win, Samford improves to 7-11, while Lipscomb drops to 8-10 with the loss.

Samford will return to action Friday evening when the Bulldogs open a three-game Southern Conference series with College of Charleston at Joe Lee Griffin Field. The game time for Friday's series opener is scheduled for 6 p.m. All three games can be heard locally on WVSU-FM 91.1, or worldwide on the internet at www.samford.edu/wvsu.