March 23, 2010

Box Score

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The Samford baseball team pounded 12 hits, but could only manage three runs in a 10-3 loss to Auburn Tuesday evening at Joe Lee Griffin Field.

"If we could have gotten a hit with a guy on third base this might have been a little better," Samford head coach Casey Dunn said. "We had chances early to tie the game or take the lead, but we failed to do it. When you look at the scoreboard, we have 12 hits and only three runs to show for it. We were able to get some hits, we just couldn't get them at the right time."

Samford falls to 11-9 on the season with the loss. Auburn improves to 15-5 with the win. The game was played in front of 1,945 fans, the second-largest crowd in Joe Lee Griffin Field history.

Samford was led at the plate by David Schulze, going 2-for-4 with an RBI. Michael Johnson was 2-for-4 with two doubles. Bo Smith and Trey Hayes also had two hits apiece for the Bulldogs.

Josh Martin started the game on the mound for Samford, pitching 5.1 innings and giving up seven runs on 11 hits to take the loss. Michael Gunter, Charles Terry, Tyler Vanderheiden and Clint Jones also saw time on the mound for Samford.

For Auburn at the plate, Justin Fradejas went 3-for-5 with a triple and an RBI. Brian Fletcher went 2-for-4 with a home run and three RBI. Creede Simpson, Tony Caldwell and Dan Gamache had two hits each for the Tigers.

Dexter Price pitched 5.1 innings, giving up two runs on eight hits to get the win. Bradley Hendrix tossed the final 3.2 innings, giving up one run on four hits to earn the save.

Auburn struck first with two runs in the top of the first inning. Fletcher homered to left-center field with Hunter Morris on base for a 2-0 Auburn lead.

Samford came back with a run in the bottom of the first to cut the lead to 2-1. Schulze singled through the right side of the infield to drive in Mason Meredeth for Samford's first run of the game.

Auburn added a run in the third inning and another in the fourth to push its lead to 4-1. In the third inning, Fletcher singled to left field to drive in Simpson for Auburn's third run of the game. In the fourth inning, Ryan Jenkins singled up the middle to drive in Fradejas for a three-run Auburn lead.

Samford plated a run in the bottom of the fifth inning to cut the Auburn lead to 4-2. Tripp Swann scored from third base when Brad Moss grounded out to shortstop to give Samford its second run of the game.

Auburn scored three runs in the top of the sixth inning to make the score 7-2. Justin Bryant drove in two runs, while Fradejas drove in one for a five-run Tiger lead.

The Tigers added a run in the eighth inning and two more in the ninth to push their lead to 10-2. Simpson scored on a wild pitch for the run in the eighth inning. In the ninth inning, Bryant reached base on a fielder's choice, driving up Gamache, and Fradejas then scored on a Samford error for Auburn's final two runs of the game.

Samford added one final run in the bottom of the ninth inning. Stephen Ballard hit a sacrifice fly to left field to drive in pinch-runner Alvin Hines II to make the final score 10-3.

After the game, Samford held its third-annual Diamond Dig, sponsored by Steed's Jeweler's. Each woman in attendance was given a spoon to dig for a diamond buried somewhere in the infield. Samford student Emily Amari was the winner of this year's Diamond Dig.

Samford will return to action on Wednesday evening when the Bulldogs play at Jacksonville State at 6:30 p.m. Fans can follow the game live on the internet via GameTracker at the link below.

GameTracker for Jacksonville State Game