April 22, 2011

Box Score

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The Samford baseball team split a Southern Conference doubleheader with UNC Greensboro Friday at Joe Lee Griffin Field. Samford won the first game, 7-5, before falling in game two, 4-1 in 10 innings.

Samford's record moves to 24-16 overall and 12-8 in Southern Conference play. UNC Greensboro is now 20-17 overall and 10-7 in league play.

In the first game, Samford's Tyler Vanderheiden (2-0) earned the win on the mound, pitching 1.2 innings in relief, allowing no hits and striking out three batters. Andrew Jones pitched the final inning, striking out all three batters, to pick up his ninth save of the season.

For Samford at the plate in game one, Saxon Butler went 3-for-4 with a double and three RBI. Phillip Ervin went 2-for-4 with an RBI, and Tyler Filliben drove in two runs in a 1-for-3 performance.

UNC Greensboro's Jarett Miller (3-2) took the loss for the Spartans, pitching 3.0 innings in relief, giving up two runs on three hits. Bobby Martin led the Spartans at the plate in the first game, going 2-for-5 with a double and two RBI. Eric Brindle was 2-for-4 for the Spartans.

Samford jumped on top first in game one, plating a run in the bottom of the first inning. Michael Johnson singled to right field to lead off the inning. Johnson then stole second base and moved to third on a sacrifice bunt by Brad Moss. Butler then singled up the middle to drive in Johnson to give Samford a 1-0 lead.

UNC Greensboro took the lead, scoring five runs in the top of the third inning. Martin doubled to left field to drive in John Hein and Brindle to make the score 2-1. Drew Gehringer, Chris Barker and Ray Crawford drove in a run each in the inning to give the Spartans a 5-1 lead.

Samford plated two runs in the fourth inning and two more in the fifth to tie the score at 5-5. In the fourth inning, Filliben singled through the right side of the infield to drive in Gary Cramer and Ervin to make the score 5-3. In the fifth inning, Ervin and Cramer each drove in a run to tie the score.

The Bulldogs plated two runs in the bottom of the eighth inning to take the lead for good. Butler singled to left field to drive in Johnson and Filliben to give Samford the 7-5 lead.

In game two of the doubleheader, Johnson led Samford at the plate, going 2-for-5. Butler drove in the team's lone run for his fourth RBI of the day. The Bulldogs managed just three hits in the 10-inning loss, all coming in the first three innings.

Samford's Arthur Strauss (0-1) pitched 1.1 innings in relief, giving up two runs on two hits to take the loss on the mound for the Bulldogs.

For UNC Greensboro, Trevor Edwards went 3-for-5 with a home runs and two RBI. Ray Quinones also drove in a run for the Spartans. Dylan Hathcock (2-0) earned the win for the Spartans, pitching the final 2.2 innings, giving up no hits and striking out one batter.

Samford struck first in game two with a run in the bottom of the first inning. Johnson singled to lead off the inning and then moved to second base on a sacrifice bunt by Moss. Butler then singled up the middle to drive in Johnson to give the Bulldogs a 1-0 lead.

UNC Greensboro tied the score with a run in the top of the third inning. With two outs in the inning, Edwards hit a solo home run to right field to tie the score at 1-1.

The teams remained tied through the bottom of the ninth inning and into the 10th inning. In the top of the 10th, UNC Greensboro plated three runs to take the 4-1 win.

With one out in the 10th inning, Barker reached base on an infield single. Barker then stole second base and Brindle walked. Edwards then singled to right field to drive in Barker for the eventual game-winning run. Quinones later hit a sacrifice fly to drive in Brindle to make the score 3-1. The game's final run was scored when Edwards scored on a wild pitch to give UNCG a 4-1 lead.

Samford and UNC Greensboro will conclude their SoCon series with a single game Saturday at 2 p.m. at Joe Lee Griffin Field. The game can be heard locally on WVSU-FM 91.1, or worldwide on the internet at www.samford.edu/wvsu. Fans can also follow the game online via GameTracker at the link below.

GameTracker For Saturday's Game