May 1, 2011

Game One Box Score
Game Two Box Score

GREENVILLE, S.C. - The Samford baseball team split a Southern Conference doubleheader at Furman Sunday afternoon at Latham Stadium. The Bulldogs dropped the first game, 5-3, and then came back to win the second game by a score of 3-2.

With the split, Samford wins the series, two games to one. Samford is now 27-18 overall and 14-10 in Southern Conference play. Furman moves to 20-27 overall and 10-13 in league play.

In the game two win, Tyler Filliben went 2-for-4 with two RBI, while Phillip Ervin went 2-for-3. Tripp Swann drove in the game-winning run with a single to right field in his lone, pinch-hit at-bat in the eighth inning.

"I was glad I could come out and help the team in any way I can," Swann said. "It felt really good to come away with the series win. Their pitcher got me earlier in the at-bat on a change-up and then he kind of left this one up a little more and I was able to get a barrel on it and pull it into right field."

C.K. Irby (4-1) pitched 1.2 hitless innings in relief to earn the win. Andrew Jones picked up his 10th save of the season, tossing the final inning, sitting the Paladins down in order to seal the win. Josh Martin started the game on the mound, pitching 5.0 innings, giving up two runs on five hits and striking out six batters while allowing just one walk.

"This was just an outstanding job by our pitching staff, really all day," Samford head coach Casey Dunn said. "Josh Martin pitched really well today. He's struggled this year, but this was the Josh we've seen in the past. It's encouraging to know we have him down the stretch."

Furman's Jay Friedman (1-2) pitched 0.2 innings, giving up one run on two hits to take the loss. Aaron Thompkins went 2-for-4 to lead the Paladins at the plate. Will Owens and J.B. Jenkins drove in a run each for Furman in game two.

Samford trailed, 2-0 heading into the seventh inning of the second game. The Bulldogs plated two runs in the top of the seventh inning to tie the score at 2-2. With the bases loaded and one out, Filliben singled up the middle to drive in Ervin and Kevin Putkonen to tie the score.

The Bulldogs took the lead with a run in the top of the eighth inning. Swann, pinch-hitting for right-fielder Brandon Powell, singled to right field to drive in Ervin from second base to give Samford a 3-2 lead.

Lex Rutledge pitched the eighth inning and Jones pitched the ninth, both sitting the Paladins down in order to give the Bulldogs the 3-2 win.

Furman struck first in game two, plating one run in the bottom of the third inning. Will Miller led the inning off with a single and later scored on a triple by Jenkins to give Furman a 1-0 lead.

The Paladins added a run in the sixth inning to make the score 2-0. Owens singled to drive in Alex Abrams for a two-run Paladin lead.

In game one, Saxon Butler went 3-for-5 with an RBI to lead Samford at the plate. Charles Basford (4-4) pitched 6.0 innings, giving up five runs, just four earned, on seven hits and striking out six batters to take the loss on the mound for the Bulldogs.

Furman's Thompkins went 2-for-4 with a home run and one RBI. Reese Wade went 2-for-3 with an RBI, and Paul Nitto went 2-for-4 with an RBI for the Paladins. Daniel Stallsmith (4-2) tossed 5.2 innings, giving up three unearned runs on four hits to earn the win for Furman.

Furman jumped on top first in game one with a run in the bottom of the first inning. Wade singled up the middle to drive in Rob Fondu, who led the inning off with a single, to give the Paladins a 1-0 lead.

The Paladins plated two more runs in the second inning to push their lead to 3-0. Abrams reached base on an infield single to drive in Nitto for the first run of the inning. Will Muzika then scored when Jenkins reached base on a Samford error for a three-run Furman lead.

Furman added another run in the third inning. Thompkins led the inning off with a home run to right field to give the Paladins a 4-0 lead.

Samford put three runs on the scoreboard in the top of the fifth inning to cut the Furman lead to 4-3. With the bases loaded and two outs, Gardner Richey and Tommy Corbin both scored when Brad Moss reached base on an error for Samford's first two runs of the day. Butler then singled to right field to drive in Michael Johnson to bring Samford to within one run.

Furman added a run in the bottom of the fifth to make the score 5-3. Thompkins reached base on a Samford error to lead off the inning. Thompkins later scored on a single by Nitto for a two-run Paladin lead.

The Bulldogs had a chance to tie the score in the top of the seventh inning. With Brandon Miller on first base with two outs, Ervin hit a fly ball over the fence in left field, but Furman's Owens was able to reach over and pull it back in to end the inning, as the Paladins went on to win game one, 5-3.

Samford will return to action on Friday, May 6, when the Bulldogs play host to SIU Edwardsville in the first game of a three-game non-conference series at Joe Lee Griffin Field. The teams will play Friday at 7 p.m., Saturday at 2 p.m. and Sunday at 1 p.m.