April 26, 2011

Box Score

AUBURN, Ala. - Samford's Phillip Ervin hit a home run and drove in five runs, and four pitchers combined to give up no runs on six hits as the Bulldog baseball team earned an 8-0 win at Auburn Tuesday evening.

Samford plated four runs in the first inning and three in the third to jump on the Tigers early in the game. Josh Martin (3-1) pitched 6.0 innings, giving up no runs on five hits, striking out two batters and walking just two to earn the win for the Bulldogs.

"Obviously, any win is a good win," Samford associate head coach Tony David said. "But against an SEC team, with them being tied for first in the West and with what their RPI is, this is obviously a big one and it's something our program is excited about. The biggest thing was jumping on them early, and Josh Martin really came out, commanded the zone and threw multiple pitches for strikes."

The win is the first for Samford over Auburn since April 21, 2009, when the Bulldogs claimed an 8-2 win at Auburn. The game also marks the first time Samford has shutout a Southeastern Conference opponent since claiming a 6-0 win at Mississippi State on March 24, 2004, and it is the first time Samford has earned a shutout at Auburn in the Division I history of the program.

In addition to Martin, C.K. Irby, Grant Sides and Andrew Jones combined to pitch the final 3.0 innings, allowing just one hit.

Ervin went 2-for-4 with a home run, a double and five RBI for the Bulldogs. Brandon Miller went 2-for-4 with a double and two RBI. Tyler Filliben went 3-for-4, while Michael Johnson, Brad Moss and Saxon Butler had two hits each for Samford.

Auburn's Andrew Morris (1-3) pitched 3.0 innings, giving up seven runs on seven hits to take the loss for the Tigers. Kevin Patterson led Auburn at the plate, going 2-for-4.

Samford jumped on top early with four runs in the top of the first inning. Johnson singled to right field to lead off the game. Moss then doubled to left field to move Johnson to third base. After a strikeout by Butler, Miller doubled to left-center field to drive in Johnson and Moss for the first two runs of the game. Ervin then doubled to left-center field to drive in Miller for a 3-0 Samford lead. After Ervin stole third base, he scored on a ground out by Kevin Putkonen to make the score 4-0.

Samford added three runs in the top of the third inning to push its lead to 7-0. With one out in the inning, Butler and Miller delivered back-to-back singles. Ervin then hit a home run, his fourth of the season, to left field to give Samford a seven-run lead.

The Bulldogs plated one final run in the top of the ninth inning. Moss singled to lead off the inning and then moved to second base on a ground out by Butler. Moss then went to third base on a wild pitch. Moss scored the game's final run when Ervin reached base on a fielder's choice to make the score 8-0.

Samford will return to action on Saturday, April 30, when the Bulldogs play at Furman in the first game of a three-game Southern Conference series. The teams will play a single game Saturday at 6 p.m. (CT), and a doubleheader Sunday at 12 p.m. (CT).