April 6, 2010

Box Score

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The Samford baseball team erased an eight-run deficit, but could not hold on as the Bulldogs fell to in-state rival Troy, 11-9, Tuesday evening at Joe Lee Griffin Field.

Troy plated two runs in the first inning and six more in the second to jump out to an 8-0 lead. Samford came back with a run in the fourth inning, two runs in the fifth inning and five more in the sixth to tie the game at 8-8.

Troy, however answered with three runs in the seventh to take an 11-8 lead. Samford put one final run on the board in the ninth, but could get no closer as the Bulldogs fell, 11-9.

"When you look at it, it's a game we had no business being in with the way we started," Samford head coach Casey Dunn said. "But, now we are disappointed we didn't get a win because of the way we did fight back. We tied it up there, but then gave up three more runs in the seventh."

Samford used nine pitchers in the game, with no one pitching more than 1.2 innings. Sean Handlan took the loss for the Bulldogs, pitching a third of an inning, giving up one run on two hits. Charles Terry, Dayne Cutrell, Tyler Vanderheiden, Michael Gunter, Rumiko Forrester, Mark Lewallyn, Andrew Jones and Lex Rutledge all saw time on the mound as well.

"It's disappointing," Dunn said. "We had some guys who threw poorly, but at the same time, we had some guys who threw the ball really well tonight too."

Samford (17-11) was led at the plate by Trey Hayes, going 3-for-4 with a home run and four RBI. Mason Meredeth went 2-for-4 with an RBI, while Wayne Miller went 2-for-5 at the plate for the Bulldogs.

For Troy (16-12) at the plate, Steven Felix hit a two-run home run in a 1-for-4 performance. Adam Bryant went 2-for-5 with three RBI. Chase Whitley was a perfect 4-for-4 at the plate. Whitley also earned the save on the mound for the Trojans, pitching the final 3.0 innings, giving up one run on two hits. Cass Abercrombie tossed a third of an inning to earn the win.

After falling behind, 8-0 in the first two innings, Samford got on the board first with a run in the fourth inning when Hayes singled up the middle to drive in David Schulze.

In the fifth inning, Samford plated two more runs to cut the Troy lead to 8-3. Miller scored from third base when Schulze grounded into a double play with the bases loaded for the first run of the inning. Matthew Bennett later doubled down the right-field line to drive in Stephen Ballard for Samford's third run of the game.

Samford tied the score with five runs in the sixth inning. Byron Soler doubled down the right-field line to drive in Michael Johnson for the first run of the inning. Ballard later doubled to drive in Soler to make the score 8-5. Meredeth then singled to right field to drive in Ballard. Hayes then doubled to right-center field to drive in Schulze and Meredeth to tie the score at 8-8.

Troy came right back with three runs in the top of the seventh inning to take an 11-8 lead. Blake Martz hit a sacrifice fly to drive in Miles Hoyle for the first run of the inning. Adam Bryant then doubled to right field to drive in Steven Rosado and T.J. Rivera for a three-run Troy lead.

Samford came back with one final run in the bottom of the ninth inning, but could not manage another run to make the final score 11-9. Hayes led the inning off with a solo home run to left field for the final run of the game.

Samford will return to action on Friday, when the Bulldogs play host to UNC Greensboro in the first game of a three-game Southern Conference series. Friday's series-opener is scheduled for a 6 p.m. start from Joe Lee Griffin Field.