May 9, 2009

Game One Box Score
Game Two Box Score

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The Samford baseball team was swept in a Southern Conference doubleheader by Georgia Southern Saturday afternoon at Joe Lee Griffin Field. Georgia Southern won game one, 8-2 and game two by a score of 10-4.

With the losses, Samford drops to 17-34 overall and 9-20 in SoCon play. Georgia Southern improves to 34-14 overall and 16-8 in league play.

In game one for Samford, Trey Hayes was 3-for-4 with a double and an RBI. Wayne Miller also drove in a run in a 1-for-4 performance. Michael Jarry pitched 5.2 innings, giving up eight runs on nine hits to take the loss for the Bulldogs.

Georgia Southern was led at the plate in game one by Kyle Blackburn, going 2-for-4 with two home runs and three RBI. Brian Pierce went 3-for-4 with two RBI. Griffin Benedict and Phillip Porter had two hits apiece for the Eagles. Chris Mederos pitched 7.0 innings, giving up two runs on five hits and striking out six batters to earn the win.

Georgia Southern jumped on top first in game one with a run in the top of the second inning. With two outs in the inning, Blackburn hit a solo home run to left field for a 1-0 GSU lead.

Samford came back to tie the score with a run in the bottom of the third inning. Gary Cramer doubled to lead off the inning. After moving to third base on a ground out, Cramer score on a single by Miller to make the score 1-1.

GSU took control of the game with two runs in the fifth inning and five in the sixth to make the score 8-1. In the fifth inning, Blackburn hit a two-run homer for a 3-1 GSU lead. In the sixth inning, Pierce drove in two runs and Porter drove in one, while Benedict and Porter each scored on a wild pitch for a seven-run GSU lead.

Samford came back with one run in the bottom of the sixth to make the final score 8-2. Hayes doubled down the left-field line to drive in David Schulze, who was hit by a pitch earlier in the inning, for the game's final run.

In the second game, Samford led, 4-3 heading into the ninth inning, but GSU plated seven runs in the top of the ninth to take the 10-4 win.

Samford was led in game two by Schulze, who hit a three-run home run in a 1-for-4 performance. Brad Moss was 2-for-4 at the plate in the second game. Kyle Nichols pitched 1.2 innings in relief, giving up five runs, only two earned, on three hits to take the loss. David Knapp started the game on the mound for Samford, pitching 7.0 strong innings, giving up just two runs on eight hits.

Georgia Southern hit five home runs in game two. Benedict hit two homers, while Kevin Bowles, Porter and Pierce had one home run each for the Eagles. Benedict and Porter had three hits each in the game. Charles Matthews pitched the final two innings, allowing no hits to earn the win for the Eagles.

In the top of the ninth inning, with Samford leading 4-3, Porter and A.J. Wirnsberger reached base on back-to-back Samford errors to lead off the inning. Randy Williams then reached base on a fielder's choice to drive in Porter to tie the score at 4-4.

Pierce then homered to center field to give the Eagles a 6-4 lead. After a double by Ty Wright with two outs, Bowles hit a two-run homer to make the score 8-4. Porter later singled to drive in pinch-runner Roman Grimaldi to make the score 9-4. Wirnsberger then singled up the middle to drive in Phillips to make the final score 10-4.

The teams will wrap up their three-game SoCon series with a single game Sunday at 1 p.m. at 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. The game can be viewed online 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 Sunday's Game