March 29, 2009

Game One Box Score
Game Two Box Score

GREENSBORO, N.C. - The Samford baseball team swept a Southern Conference doubleheader at UNC Greensboro Sunday afternoon at the UNCG Baseball Stadium. Samford won game one, 9-7, and the Bulldogs took the second game by a score of 15-3.

The wins give Samford a sweep of the three-game conference series. The Bulldogs improve to 10-15 overall and 6-6 in SoCon play. The 15 runs are the most scored by Samford in a game this season. UNC Greensboro drops to 7-13 overall and 0-7 in league play.

In the first game, Samford built a seven-run lead and had to hold on to win, 9-7. David Schulze was 3-for-5 with a home run, a double and four RBI. Stephen Ballard, Bo Smith and Marcus Rodriguez had two hits each for the Bulldogs. Trey Hayes also had a home run in a 1-for-3 performance.

David Knapp pitched 7.0 innings, giving up four runs on seven hits to earn the win. Kyle Nichols pitched the final inning to earn his fourth save of the season.

For UNC Greensboro, Pedro Leon went 2-for-3 with a home run and two RBI. Corey Overholtzer was 2-for-5 with a triple and two RBI. Brent O'Berry was 2-for-4 with a double and two RBI. Greg Smith pitched 3.2 innings, giving up six runs on eight hits to take the loss for the Spartans.

In game one, Samford jumped on top first with four runs in the top of the first inning. After Ballard singled to center field and Mason Meredeth walked, Schulze doubled to drive in Ballard and Meredeth for a 2-0 Samford lead.

Schulze scored from third base on a balk for the third run of the inning. Rodriguez later singled through the left side of the infield to drive in Smith, who had earlier singled, to make the score 4-0.

Samford added two runs in the top of the fourth inning to push its lead to 6-0. Schulze hit a two-run home run to center field with Ballard on base for a six-run Samford lead.

UNC Greensboro got on the scoreboard with one run in the bottom of the fifth inning. Raymond Frias singled to lead the inning off. After moving to second base on a wild pitch and third on a ground out, Frias scored on a single by Leon to make the score 6-1.

Samford added another run in the top of the sixth inning to make the score 7-1. Ballard walked to lead the inning off and then moved to third on back-to-back singles. Ballard then scored on a sacrifice fly by Hayes for a six-run Samford lead.

Samford pushed its lead to 8-1 with one run in the top of the seventh inning. Michael Johnson was hit by a pitch to lead the inning off and then moved to third base on a single. Johnson then scored on a wild pitch for Samford's eighth run of the day.

UNC Greensboro cut the Samford lead to 8-2 with one run in the bottom of the seventh inning. Leon hit a solo home run to left field to make the score 8-2.

Samford added a run in the top of the eighth inning when Hayes hit a solo home run to left field to make the score 9-2.

UNCG came back with five runs in the bottom of the eighth inning to cut the Samford lead to 9-7. O'Berry and Overholtzer drove in two runs each in the inning, while Bradley Raynor drove in one run to make the final score 9-7.

In game two, Samford took a 7-0 lead in the first three innings and cruised to the win. Schulze was 2-for-3 with another home run and three RBI. Rodriguez was 2-for-3 with a double and four RBI. Andrew Jones pitched 5.0 innings, giving up two runs on nine hits to earn the win on the mound.

For UNC Greensboro, Frias was 3-for-3 with an RBI. Bradley Raynor was 2-for-3 with a home run and three RBI. Rob Gilliam pitched 3.0 innings, giving up seven runs on four hits to take the loss for the Spartans.

Samford again plated four runs in the first inning to take an early 4-0 lead. Wayne Miller scored on a passed ball and Ballard scored on an error for the first two runs of the game. Schulze then hit a two-run homer with Meredeth on base for a four-run Samford lead.

Samford added three runs in the third inning. Rodriguez drove in two runs with a double, and Johnson drove in one run with a single to make the score 7-0.

Samford plated five runs in the top of the fourth inning to make the score 12-0. Rodriguez drove in two runs, and Austin Allison, Smith and Schulze drove in a run each in the inning for the Bulldogs.

The Spartans put up one run in the fourth inning and another in the fifth to cut the lead to 12-2. Samford then came back with three runs in the sixth inning to make the score 15-2. Joe Durham, Allison and Gary Cramer each drove in a run in the inning for Samford.

UNC Greensboro plated one final run in the bottom of the sixth inning to make the final score 15-3.

Samford will play cross-town rival UAB in two midweek games this week. The teams will play Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. at UAB's Young Memorial Field, and they will meet Wednesday at 6 p.m. at Joe Lee Griffin Field.