April 15, 2010

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The Samford baseball team will travel to Statesboro, Ga., to take on Georgia Southern in a key Southern Conference series this weekend. The teams will play Friday at 6 p.m. (CT), Saturday at 5 p.m. (CT) and Sunday at 12:30 p.m. (CT) at GSU's J.I. Clements Stadium.

The Bulldogs enter the weekend with a record of 21-11 overall and 11-1 in Southern Conference play after winning at Alabama, 7-5, Tuesday evening. Samford is currently tied for first place in the SoCon standings with The Citadel.

Samford is led at the plate by Mason Meredeth, batting .374 with eight home runs and 36 RBI. David Schulze is batting .360 with a team-high 10 home runs and 37 RBI. Wayne Miller is batting .356 with six home runs and 26 RBI. Gary Cramer, who has recently become a regular part of the lineup, is batting .394 with five RBI.

Samford is scheduled to start Jonathan Stephens on the mound Friday. Stephens has a record of 5-0 and an ERA of 5.36. Kyle Putkonen, with a 3-1 record and a 7.38 ERA, will start Saturday. Josh Martin, who has a 2-3 record and a 5.73 ERA, is scheduled to start for the Bulldogs in Sunday's series finale.

The Eagles are currently 18-15 overall and 9-6 in SoCon play after a 6-5 win over Jacksonville Tuesday evening. Georgia Southern is in a three-way tie for third place in the league standings with College of Charleston and Elon.

GSU is led at the plate by Kyle Blackburn, batting .339 with a team-high nine home runs and 46 RBI. A.J. Wirnsberger is batting .336 with eight home runs and 28 RBI.

Georgia Southern is scheduled to start Jake Brown (4-4, 3.75 ERA) on the mound in Friday's series opener. Matt Murray (3-1, 5.79 ERA) is scheduled to start on Saturday, while Andy Moye (4-3, 4.85 ERA) will start on the mound for the Eagles on Sunday.

Samford and Georgia Southern have met 46 previous times, with GSU holding a 37-9 advantage in the series. Last season, the Eagles swept the three-game series from the Bulldogs at Joe Lee Griffin Field. GSU won the games by scores of 8-2, 10-4 and 16-3.

Following this weekend's series at Georgia Southern, Samford will play two midweek games in the following week. The Bulldogs will play at cross-town rival UAB on Tuesday, April 20 at 6:30 p.m., and Samford will play host to the Blazers on Wednesday at 6 p.m.

Fans can follow all three games this weekend live on the internet via GameTracker at the links below.

GameTracker For Friday's Game

GameTracker For Saturday's Game

GameTracker For Sunday's Game