March 12, 2010

Box Score

CHARLESTON, S.C. - The Samford baseball team scored 20 runs on 21 hits on its way to a 20-13 win at the College of Charleston in the Southern Conference opener for both teams Friday evening at Patriots Point Field.

The 20 runs are the most for a Samford team since scoring 24 runs in a 24-6 win over Eastern Kentucky in the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament on May 27, 2006. The Bulldogs' 21 hits are the most since May 11, 2008 when Samford had 21 hits in a 17-3 win over Morehead State.

Samford's David Schulze and Brad Moss both had career highs in hits in the game. Schulze went 5-for-5 with a home run and two RBI. Moss was 4-for-5 with five RBI. Wayne Miller went 4-for-5 with a home run and two RBI. Trey Hayes went 3-for-6 with two RBI.

Jonathan Stephens pitched 5.0 innings, giving up seven earned runs on nine hits to earn the win on the mound and improve to 3-0 on the season. Michael Gunter (0.2 inn.) and Andrew Jones (3.1 inn.) also saw time on the mound for Samford.

Rob Kral led Charleston at the plate, going 3-for-3 with four RBI. Jesse Mesa went 3-for-5 for the Cougars. Jose Rodriguez, Bake Knox and Greg Blake had two hits each for Charleston. David Peterson pitched 2.1 innings, giving up five runs on six hits to take the loss on the mound and drop to 1-2 on the season.

College of Charleston took an early lead with one run in the bottom of the first inning. Rodriguez singled to right field to drive in Mesa, who had reached base on a Samford error, for a 1-0 Cougar lead.

Samford came back with three runs in the top of the second inning to take a 3-1 lead. Schulze scored from third base on a wild pitch for the game-tying run. Moss then singled to center field to drive in Michael Johnson and Hayes for a two-run Samford lead.

Samford added five runs in the third inning to push its lead to 8-1. With the bases loaded, Hayes singled through the right side of the infield to drive in Schulze and Bo Smith for the first two runs of the inning. Moss later singled to left field to drive in Tripp Swann for a 6-1 Samford lead. Johnson and Hayes scored the inning's final two runs on a Charleston error for a seven-run Samford lead.

Charleston answered with five runs in the bottom of the third inning to cut the Samford lead to 8-6. Matt Leeds hit a two-run home run for Charleston's first two runs of the inning. Rodriguez, Knox and Robert Pritcher drove in a run each in the inning for the Cougars.

Samford added a run in the top of the fourth to make the score 9-6. Schulze singled to left field to drive in Stephen Ballard for Samford's ninth run of the contest.

Samford plated two more runs in the top of the fifth inning to push its lead to 11-6. With two outs, Miller homered to left-center field to make the score 10-6. The final run of the inning was scored when Ballard stole third base and then scored on a Charleston error.

The Bulldogs added four runs in the top of the sixth inning to make the score 15-6. Mason Meredeth drove in two runs and Johnson and Moss drove in a run each to give Samford a nine-run lead.

College of Charleston plated four runs in the bottom of the sixth inning to cut the Samford lead to 15-10. Kral and Knox drove in two runs each in the inning for the Cougars.

Samford plated four more runs in the top of the seventh inning to make the score 19-10. Schulze homered for the first run of the inning. Johnson, Moss and Miller drove in a run each in the inning to give the Bulldogs a nine-run lead.

Charleston added three runs in the bottom of the eighth inning to cut the Samford lead to 19-13. Kral drove in two runs and Blake drove in one run in the inning for Charleston.

The Bulldogs added one final run in the top of the ninth inning to make the final score 20-13. Moss scored from third base when Meredeth reached base on a fielder's choice for the game's final run.

With the win, Samford improves to 8-5 overall and 1-0 in SoCon play. College of Charleston drops to 11-4 overall and 0-1 in league play.

Samford and College of Charleston will meet again Saturday at 12 p.m. (CST). Fans can follow the game live on the internet via Live Stats at the link below.

College of Charleston Live Stats