Feb. 23, 2010

Box Score

TROY, Ala. - The Samford baseball team pounded out 14 hits on its way to a 9-7 win at in-state rival Troy Tuesday evening at Riddle-Pace Field.

Samford was led at the plate by Stephen Ballard, going 3-for-5 with a double, an inside-the-park grand slam and five RBI. Wayne Miller went 4-for-6 with a triple and two RBI. David Schulze and Trey Hayes each homered for the Bulldogs in the win.

Clint Jones earned the win for the Bulldogs, pitching two-thirds of an inning in relief. Lex Rutledge pitched the final 2.0 innings without allowing a hit to earn his first save.

For Troy, Adam Bryan and Chase Whitley each went 2-for-3 with two RBI. Bryant and Steven Felix each homered for the Trojans. Drew Hull pitched 4.2 innings, giving up five runs on six hits to take the loss.

Samford jumped on top first with a run in the top of the first inning. After Miller led the game off with a single, Ballard doubled to right-center field to drive in Miller for a 1-0 Samford lead.

Troy came back with a run in the bottom of the second inning to tie the score at 1-1. Steven Rosado singled up the middle to drive in Whitley for the Trojans' first run of the game.

Troy took the lead with two runs in the bottom of the third inning. Ryan Ditthardt doubled to right-center field to drive in Miles Hoyle with the go-ahead run. Whitley then singled to drive in Ditthardt to make the score 3-1.

Samford took the lead back with four runs in the top of the fifth inning. Ballard hit an inside-the-par grand slam with Miller, Hayes and Brad Moss on base for a 5-3 lead. Ballard hit the ball off the center field wall to drive in all four runs. Ballard's grand slam is believed to be the first inside-the-park grand slam in Samford history.

Troy came back with one run in the fifth inning to cut the Samford lead to 5-4. Whitley hit a sacrifice fly to left field to drive in Bryant to cut the lead to one run.

Samford added two runs in the top of the sixth inning to push its lead to 7-4. Miller tripled to right field to drive in Michael Johnson and Moss for a three-run Samford lead.

Troy plated two runs in the bottom of the sixth inning to cut the Samford lead to 7-6. Bryant hit a home run with Felix on base to make it a one-run game.

Samford added a run in the top of the seventh inning when Schulze led the inning off with a solo home run to make the score 8-6.

Troy cut the Samford lead to 8-7 with a run in the bottom of the eighth inning. Felix led the inning off with a home run to right-center field for the Trojans' seventh run of the game. The Trojans loaded the bases with one out later in the inning, but Rutledge got Blake Martz to ground into a double play to end the threat.

Samford put one final run on the board in the top of the ninth inning to make the final score 9-7. Hayes led the inning off with a solo home run for the final run of the game.

With the win, Samford improves to 3-2 on the season. Troy drops to 3-1 with the loss.

Samford will return to action on Friday, Feb. 26, when the Bulldogs begin a three-game series at Kennesaw State. Friday's series-opening game is scheduled for a 3 p.m. (CT) start.