March 20, 2009

Box Score

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The College of Charleston baseball team pounded out 17 runs on 16 hits on its way to a 17-7 win over Samford in the first game of a three-game Southern Conference series Friday night at Joe Lee Griffin Field.

Samford drops to 7-12 overall and 3-4 in SoCon play. College of Charleston improves to 15-3 overall and 6-1 in league play.

Samford's Marcus Rodriguez and Mason Meredeth each homered in the game. Rodriguez was 2-for-3 with three RBI, while Meredeth was 2-for-4 with three RBI. Stephen Ballard was also 2-for-4 for the Bulldogs. Michael Jarry pitched 4.1 innings, giving up 15 runs on 11 hits to take the loss.

College of Charleston belted four home runs in the game. Matt Mansilla homered twice for the Cougars, going 3-for-5 with five RBI. Justin Brewer and Cole Rakar had a home run apiece for Charleston. Jesse Simpson pitched 7.0 innings, giving up seven runs on eight hits to earn the win for the Cougars.

After College of Charleston put one run on the board in the top of the first innings, Samford came back with three runs in the bottom of the first to take a 3-1 lead. After Wayne Miller doubled and Ballard reached on an infield single, Meredeth hit a three-run homer to center field to give the Bulldogs the lead.

The Cougars answered with three runs in the top of the second inning to regain the lead at 4-3. Mansilla reached base on a Samford error and Austin Morgan walked. Rakar then hit a three-run homer to left field to make the score 4-3.

College of Charleston took control of the game with six runs in the top of the third inning to make the score 10-3. Mike Hentz doubled to center field to drive in Ryan Daniels for the first run of the inning. Mansilla then hit a three-run homer to center field to make the score 8-3. Joey Bergman singled to drive in Rakar and then Clay McCord scored from third base when Bergman stole second for the final run of the inning.

Samford came back with four runs in the bottom of the third inning to cut the lead to 10-7. David Schulze doubled to drive in Ballard for Samford's first run of the inning. Rodriguez later homered to left field with Trey Hayes and Schulze on base to cut the Cougars' lead to three runs.

College of Charleston added two runs in the fourth inning and three in the fifth to push its lead to 15-7. Mansilla hit a two-run home run to account for the runs in the fourth inning. Bergman, Brandon Sizemore and Joash Brodin drove in a run each in the fifth inning.

The Cougars added two final runs in the top of the ninth inning to make the final score 17-7. Brewer hit a two-run home run with Greg Blake on base for the game's final two runs.

The same two teams will meet again on Saturday. The game is scheduled for a 1 p.m. start from Joe Lee Griffin Field. The game can be heard locally on WVSU-FM 91.1, or worldwide on the internet at www.samford.edu/wvsu. Fans can watch the game live on the internet via SoCon TV at www.soconsports.com.

Fans can also follow the game live on the internet via GameTracker at the link below.

GameTracker For Saturday's Game