Feb. 20, 2010

Game 1 Box Score
Game 2 Box Score

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The Samford baseball team split a doubleheader with Marshall Saturday afternoon at Joe Lee Griffin Field. Samford won game one, 9-5, but the Bulldogs dropped the second game, a seven-inning contest, by a score of 5-4.

In the first game, Marshall jumped out to an early 5-0 lead in the first two innings, but Samford came back to outscore the Thundering Herd, 9-0 in the final seven innings for the 9-5 win.

Samford was led at the plate in the first game by Mason Meredeth, going 3-for-4 with a home run and three RBI. Gardner Richey and Marcus Rodriguez also homered in game one for Samford. Richey went 2-for-4 with two RBI, while Rodriguez was 2-for-4 with one RBI.

Lex Rutledge pitched 4.0 hitless innings in relief to earn his first collegiate win. Josh Martin pitched the final 2.0 innings, giving up just one hit to earn his first save of the season.

For Marshall in game one, Victor Gomez went 2-for-4 with a double, a home run and four RBI. Arik Sikula pitched 3.2 innings in relief, giving up one run on three hits to take the loss.

Marshall plated three runs in the first inning and two more in the second inning to take a 5-0 lead. In the first inning, Gomez hit a two-run home run for the first two runs of the game. Thor Meeks then hit a solo home run for a three-run Marshall lead. In the second inning, Gomez doubled down the left-field line to drive in Isaac Ballou and Kenny Socorro to make the score 5-0.

Samford answered with five runs in the bottom of the third inning to tie the score at 5-5. Trey Hayes doubled down the left-field line to drive in Meredeth and Stephen Ballard for Samford's first two runs of the game. Richey later homered with Hayes on base to make the score 5-4. Rodriguez then hit a solo home run to tie the score.

The game remained tied until Samford plated a run in the bottom of the seventh inning. Hayes doubled to center field to drive in David Schulze for the eventual game-winning run.

Samford added three runs in the eighth inning to make the score 9-5. Meredeth homered to center field with Ballard and Michael Johnson on base for the game's final three runs.

In the second game, Samford jumped on top, 3-0 early but the Bulldogs were not able to hold the lead in suffering the 5-4 loss.

Samford was led at the plate in game two by Ballard, going 2-for-4 with two RBI. Bo Smith also drove in two runs in a 1-for-2 performance. Arthur Strauss started on the mound for Samford, pitching 2.2 innings and giving up five runs, only two earned, on one hit to take the loss.

For Marshall, Meeks, Socorro and Kirby Pellant drove in a run each in the second game. Shane Farrell pitched 4.1 innings, giving up four runs on five hits to earn the win. Austin Coan tossed the final 2.0 innings, surrendering no runs on three hits to get the save.

Samford plated three runs in the bottom of the first inning to take the early lead. Smith drove in two runs and Ballard drove in one to give Samford the 3-0 lead.

Marshall answered with three runs in the top of the second to tie the score. Pellant and Socorro each drove in a run and Meeks scored on a wild pitch to make the score 3-3.

Samford took the lead back with a run in the bottom of the second inning. Ballard singled up the middle to drive in Wayne Miller for a 4-3 Samford lead.

Marshall came back with two runs in the top of the third inning to make the final score 5-4. Meeks singled up the middle to drive in Josh Valle to tie the score at 4-4. Meeks scored again on a wild pitch for the game-winning run.

Samford and Marshall will conclude their four-game series with a single game Sunday. The first pitch for Sunday's game is scheduled for 1 p.m. at Joe Lee Griffin Field. Fans can follow the game live on the internet via GameTracker at the link below.

GameTracker For Sunday Game