March 14, 2010

Box Score

CHARLESTON, S.C. - Samford's David Schulze went 6-for-6 with two home runs and seven RBI to lead the Bulldog baseball team to an 18-4 Southern Conference win at College of Charleston Sunday at Patriots Point Field.

With the win, Samford wins the three-game series with the Cougars, two games to one. In the three games, Samford scored a total of 42 runs, the most ever in a Southern Conference series for Samford. The Bulldogs improve to 9-6 overall and 2-1 in SoCon play. College of Charleston falls to 12-5 overall and 1-2 in league play.

Schulze's performance marks the first time a Samford player has had six hits in a game since May 27, 2006, when Bear Burnett went 6-for-7 with six RBI in a 24-6 win over Eastern Kentucky in the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament.

Behind Schulze for Samford, Stephen Ballard was 3-for-5 with two RBI. Mason Meredeth, Bo Smith, Michael Johnson and Brad Moss had two hits each. Marcus Rodriguez also had a home run and two RBI in a 1-for-2 performance.

Andrew Jones pitched 3.1 innings in relief, giving up two runs on four hits to earn the win. Josh Martin started the game on the mound for Samford, pitching 3.2 innings, giving up two runs on six hits and striking out six batters. Lex Rutledge pitched the final 2.0 innings without giving up a hit.

For Charleston, Baker Knox went 2-for-4 with two RBI. Jesse Mesa went 2-for-5 with an RBI, while Cole Rakar was 2-for-5 for the Cougars. Josh Salay pitched 4.0 innings, giving up seven runs on nine hits to take the loss on the mound.

Samford jumped on top first with three runs in the top of the first inning. Meredeth singled through the left side of the infield to drive in Wayne Miller for the first run of the game. Schulze later doubled to right field to drive in Meredeth and Ballard for a 3-0 Samford lead.

College of Charleston plated one run in the bottom of the first inning to cut the Samford lead to 3-1. Knox singled to drive in Mesa for Charleston's first run of the game.

Samford added four runs in the top of the second inning to push its lead to 7-1. Meredeth singled to drive in Miller and Moss for the first two runs of the inning. Schulze later singled to drive in Meredeth and Ballard for a six-run Samford lead.

College of Charleston scored one run in the bottom of the third inning to cut the Samford lead to 7-2. Knox tripled to drive in Rob Kral for the lone run of the inning for the Cougars.

Samford plated four more runs in the top of the fifth to make the score 11-2. Miller, Ballard, Smith and Schulze drove in a run each in the inning for Samford.

The Bulldogs added another run in the top of the sixth to push their lead to 12-2. Ballard singled to drive in Moss to give Samford a 10-run lead.

Charleston came back with two runs in the bottom of the sixth inning to make the score 12-4. Mesa singled to drive in Justin Brewer for the first run of the inning. The final run of the inning was scored when Rakar came home when Matt Leads grounded into a double play.

Samford plated three more runs in the top of the seventh inning for a 15-4 lead. Schulze homered to right-center field for the first run of the inning. Johnson and Moss also drove in a run each in the inning to give the Bulldogs an 11-run lead.

The Bulldogs added three more runs in the top of the eighth inning to make the final score 18-4. Rodriguez hit a two-run home run and Schulze hit a solo homer for the final three runs of the game.

Samford will return to action on Tuesday, March 16, when the Bulldogs play host to in-state rival Jacksonville State. The game is scheduled for a 6 p.m. start from Joe Lee Griffin Field.