April 9, 2011

Box Score

CULLOWHEE, N.C. - The Samford baseball team dropped a 3-2 decision at Western Carolina in the second game of a three-game Southern Conference series Saturday afternoon at Hennon Stadium.

With the loss, Samford drops to 20-13 overall and 8-6 in Southern Conference play. Western Carolina improves to 13-15-1 overall and 4-10 in league games.

Samford's Charles Basford (3-3) pitched 6.0 innings, giving up three runs, only two earned, on seven hits to take the loss. Basford struck out three batters while walking just one. Tyler Vanderheiden, Joseph Burns and C.K. Irby also saw time on the mound for the Bulldogs.

The Bulldogs were led at the plate by Brandon Miller, going 3-for-3 with a double, a home run and one RBI. Miller's home run was his team-leading 11th of the season and his second of the weekend. Phillip Ervin went 2-for-4 at the plate. Stephen Ballard also drove in a run in a 1-for-4 performance.

Jordan Smith (4-3) pitched 7.0 innings for the Catamounts, giving up two runs on six hits to earn the win. Jeremy Sluder picked up his first save of the season, getting the final out in the top of the ninth inning.

Cameron Dullnig went 3-for-4 for Western Carolina at the plate. Stephen Notaro went 2-for-4 with a home run and two RBI for the Catamounts.

Samford jumped on top first with a run in the top of the second inning. On the first pitch of the inning, Miller homered to center field to give Samford a 1-0 lead.

Western Carolina came back to tie the score with a run in the bottom of the third inning. Aaron Attaway singled with one out to start the rally. He then moved to second base on a two-out single by Dullnig and later scored on a Samford error to make the score 1-1.

Samford took the lead again with a run in the top of the sixth inning. Miller led the inning off with a double. After back-to-back strikeouts, Miller scored on a single by Ballard to give Samford a 2-1 lead.

The Catamounts took the lead with two runs in the bottom of the sixth inning. Adam Martin singled to lead off the inning. With two outs, Notaro homered to right field to give WCU a 3-2 lead.

Samford threatened to score in the top of the eighth inning. Saxon Butler and Miller singled, and Matt Frederick walked to load the bases with no outs. The Bulldogs, however, were unable to get a run across the plate, and Samford eventually fell by a score of 3-2.

The teams will conclude their three-game series with a game Sunday at 1 p.m. (CT). Fans can follow the game online via GameTracker at the link below.

GameTracker For Sunday's Game