March 17, 2010

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The Samford baseball team will play host to the Minnesota Golden Gophers in a four-game series from Thursday through Sunday at Joe Lee Griffin Field.

The series will open with a game Thursday afternoon at 3 p.m. The teams will also play Friday (6 p.m.), Saturday (1 p.m.) and Sunday (12 p.m.).

Prior to Friday's game, Samford will hold its annual Baseball Hall of Fame Reception, honoring this year's inductees, Johnny Oppert (1955-59) and Gary Cooper (1983-85). The reception will be held in the Pete Hanna Center, and is scheduled for 5 p.m. Tickets to the reception cost $25. The purchase tickets to the reception or for more information, please contact Garrett Rice at 205-470-5400, or by e-mail at gjrice@samford.edu.

Samford enters the series with a record of 9-7 overall and 2-1 in Southern Conference play. The Bulldogs are coming off an 11-7 loss to Jacksonville State Tuesday evening.

Samford has been led at the plate by Bo Smith, batting .404 with a home run and 11 RBI. David Schulze, who was named the SoCon's Player of the Week on Monday, is batting .344 with a team-high five home runs. Stephen Ballard leads the team in RBI with 18 so far this season.

On the mound for Samford, Josh Martin (0-2, 7.29 ERA) will start Thursday's game, seeing limited action. Jonathan Stephens (3-0, 5.09 ERA) is scheduled to start for Samford on Friday, while Kyle Putkonen (2-1, 10.90 ERA) will start on Saturday. Sunday's starting pitcher will be Martin.

Minnesota is currently 5-10 on the season. The Golden Gophers lost at Alabama on Tuesday night by a score of 5-4. The teams meet again tonight before Minnesota travels to Birmingham.

Minnesota is led at the plate by A.J. Petersen, batting .400 with a home run and nine RBI. Michael Kvasnicka leads the Golden Gophers in home runs with four and RBI with 13.

Minnesota is scheduled to start Allen Bechstein (0-0, 7.15 ERA) in Thursday's series-opener. Seth Rosin (1-1, 2.53 ERA) will start on Friday, while T.J. Oakes (1-0, 2.12 ERA) is scheduled to start on the mound Saturday for Minnesota. In Sunday's series finale, Minnesota is scheduled to start Austin Lubinsky (0-0, 4.91 ERA) on the mound.

Fans can follow all four games in the series live on the internet via GameTracker at the links below.

GameTracker For Game 1

GameTracker For Game 2

GameTracker For Game 3

GameTracker For Game 4