April 25, 2009

Box Score

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - Elon's Chase Austin went 5-for-5 with a double, a home run and six RBI to lead the Phoenix baseball team to a 12-7 win in the second game of a three-game Southern Conference series Saturday afternoon at Joe Lee Griffin Field.

Samford drops to 15-28 overall and 8-15 in SoCon play with the loss. Elon improves to 27-13 overall and 16-4 in league play.

Samford was led at the plate by Mason Meredeth, going 3-for-4 with a double, a home run and three RBI. Meredeth extended his current hitting streak to 28 games, just one shy of the school record set last season by Michael Marseco.

Samford's Gary Cramer went 2-for-2 with a double and an RBI and Wayne Miller went 2-for-4 on the day. David Schulze also homered in the game for Samford, going 1-for-4 with two RBI. David Knapp pitched 5.1 innings, giving up five earned runs on nine hits to take the loss.

Behind Austin for Elon, Dallas Tarleton went 2-for-4 with a home run and two RBI. Neal Pritchard was 2-for-4 with three RBI for the Phoenix, while Zeth Stone went 2-for-5. Daniel Britt pitched 7.1 innings, giving up six runs on 10 hits to earn the win.

Elon jumped on top first with a run in the top of the first inning. Austin doubled down the left-field line to drive in Cory Harrilchak, who had earlier reached base on a fielder's choice, for the first run of the game.

Samford came back to take the lead with three runs in the bottom of the fourth inning. With two outs in the inning, Meredeth singled to start the rally. Schulze then homered to right field to give Samford a 2-1 lead. Bo Smith then singled and advanced to second base on an Elon error. Trey Hayes then doubled to left field to drive in Smith to make the score 3-1.

Elon answered with five runs in the top of the fifth inning to take a 6-3 lead. Mike Melillo singled to lead off the inning. Tarleton then homered to left-center field to tie the score. Pritchard, Stone and Harrilchak loaded the bases with three-straight singles.

Austin then singled to drive in Stone and Pritchard for a 5-3 Elon lead. Harrilchak then scored from second base when Pat Irvine reached base on a Samford error for a 6-3 Phoenix lead.

Elon pulled away with two runs in the seventh inning and four more in the eighth to push its lead to 12-3. Austin homered to left field with Stone on base to account for the two runs in the seventh inning. In the eighth inning, Pritchard doubled with the bases loaded to drive in the first three runs in the inning. Austin later drove in Pritchard from third base with an infield single for a nine-run Elon lead.

Samford added three runs in the eighth inning and one more in the ninth to make the final score 12-7. Meredeth homered to center field with Stephen Ballard and Cramer on base for the three runs in the eighth inning. With one out in the ninth inning, Michael Johnson singled up the middle. Cramer then doubled to left field to drive in Johnson for the game's final run.

The same two teams will conclude this weekend's series with a game Sunday afternoon. The game is scheduled for a 1 p.m. start from Joe Lee Griffin Field. Fans can follow the game live on the internet via GameTracker at the link below.

GameTracker For Sunday's Game