April 17, 2011

Box Score

BOONE, N.C. - The Samford baseball team took an 8-3 Southern Conference win in the final game of a three-game series at Appalachian State Sunday afternoon at Smith Stadium.

With the win, Samford wins the series, two games to one. For the season, the Bulldogs improve to 23-14 overall and 11-7 in Southern Conference play. Appalachian State drops to 21-17 overall and 7-11 in league play.

"To be able to win a weekend on the road, anytime, is a big accomplishment," Samford head coach Casey Dunn said. "But to be able to do it after losing a tough one on Friday night is huge for our club."

Samford pitcher Kyle Putkonen (5-1), coming back after sitting out last weekend with an injury, pitched 6.0 innings, giving up one run on four hits, striking out five batters and allowing no walks to earn the win on the mound for the Bulldogs. Tyler Vanderheiden, Arthur Strauss and Andrew Jones also saw time on the mound for the Bulldogs.

"Obviously, it started yesterday with Charles Basford having a great outing," Dunn said. "Kyle Putkonen, coming back for his first start after an injury, threw really well day. Arthur Strauss is the one who kind of turned it around coming out of the bullpen for us. I'm really proud of what our kids did."

For Samford at the plate, Brad Moss went 2-for-5 with two RBI. Michael Johnson went 2-for-4 with an RBI. Brandon Miller hit his 15th home run of the season in a 1-for-4 performance. The 15 single-season home runs are the second most in school history. The school record is 17 hit by Jim Morgan in 1997.

Appalachian State's Seth Grant (3-5) pitched 6.0 innings, giving up three runs, only one earned, on five hits to take the loss. Zack Briggs led the Mountaineers at the plate, going 2-for-4. Tyler Zupcic, Hector Crespo and Will Callaway drove in a run each for ASU.

Samford put the first run on the scoreboard in the top of the second inning. Phillip Ervin led the inning off with a single. He later scored from second base on a Mountaineer error for a 1-0 Samford lead.

The Bulldogs plated two more runs in the top of the fifth inning to take a 3-0 lead. Kevin Putkonen doubled to lead off the inning. After moving to third base on a fielder's choice, Putkonen scored on a single by Moss. Johnson, who had earlier reached base on a fielder's choice, scored from third base on a wild pitch for a three-run Samford lead.

Appalachian State put a run on the scoreboard in the bottom of the fifth inning to cut the Samford lead to 3-1. Briggs singled with one out to start the rally. Briggs later scored on a single by Crespo for ASU's first run of the game.

Samford added a run in the top of the seventh inning to push its lead to 4-1. C.K. Irby walked to lead off the inning. After moving to second base and then third on back-to-back ground outs, Irby scored on a single by Moss for a three-run Bulldog lead.

Appalachian State came back with two runs in the bottom of the seventh inning to cut the Samford lead to 4-3. With one out in the inning, Briggs singled. After back-to-back walks loaded the bases, Briggs scored when Callaway reached base on a fielder's choice for the first run of the inning. Preston Troutman then scored from third base on a sacrifice fly to left field to bring ASU to within one run.

Samford answered with three runs in the top of the eighth inning. Gary Cramer walked with one out in the inning. Matt Frederick, who pinch ran for Cramer, then moved to second base on a sacrifice bunt by Putkonen. Irby then doubled to drive in Frederick for the first run of the inning. Tyler Filliben then tripled to drive in Irby for a 6-3 Samford lead. Johnson then hit a sacrifice fly to drive in Filliben to give Samford a 7-3 lead.

The Bulldogs plated another run in the top of the ninth inning. Miller homered to center field to give Samford an 8-3 lead.

Samford will return to action on Tuesday, April 19, when the Bulldogs play host to the Alabama Crimson Tide. The game is scheduled for a 6 p.m. start from Joe Lee Griffin Field.