BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The Samford baseball team's historic 2012 season was named one of the top five sports stories in the state of Alabama by the Birmingham News on Sunday.
 
The annual “The Year's Best and Worst in Alabama Sports” lists appeared in the Sunday, Dec. 30, edition of the News.
 
In 2012, Samford baseball produced the best season in the history of the program. The Bulldogs won a school-record 41 games, earned the program's first-ever Southern Conference Tournament championship and appeared in the NCAA Tournament for the first time in program history.
 
The Bulldogs reached the SoCon Tournament finals for the second-straight year without trailing in their first three games, earning wins over Western Carolina (7-0), Appalachian State (12-7) and Furman (12-2).
 
In the championship game, Samford faced a rematch with 2011 tournament champion Georgia Southern. The Bulldogs built a 6-3 lead, but GSU scored two runs in the seventh inning and one in the ninth to force extra innings, tied at 6-6.
 
In the top of the 10^th inning, Samford took control of the game when Zeth Stone tripled down the right field line with the bases loaded for the eventual game-winning runs to give Samford a 9-6 win and the conference title.
 
After winning the SoCon Tournament, Samford was sent to Tallahassee, Fla., to the NCAA Regional hosted by Florida State. Joining the Bulldogs and the Seminoles were SEC Tournament champion Mississippi State and Conference USA Tournament title winner UAB.
 
The Bulldogs opened the Regional against 17^th-ranked Mississippi State, and Samford road a strong pitching performance by Tallahassee native Charles Basford and home runs by national leader Brandon Miller, as well as Saxon Butler, C.K. Irby and Christiaan Durdaller to a 5-0 win. The win gave Samford the first 40-win season in program history.
 
After a loss to third-ranked Florida State, Samford faced Mississippi State again. Samford ended MSU's season with a dramatic 3-2 win. The Bulldogs were then eliminated by the host Seminoles to finish the season with an impressive 41-23 record.
 
Following the season, seven Samford players were selected in the Major League Baseball Draft, and two other Bulldogs signed free agent deals with professional organizations.
 
Miller (4^th round by Washington), Lex Rutledge (6^th round by Baltimore) and Josh Martin (10^th round by Cleveland) became the first three Samford players to be selected in the top 10 rounds of the MLB Draft. Tyler Vanderheiden (19^th round by New York Mets), Joseph Burns (28^th round by Texas), Butler (33^rd round by New York Yankees) and Basford (37^th round by New York Yankees) were also taken in the Draft.
 
Head Coach Casey Dunn and his staff have guided the program to the top six single-season win totals in school history. The Bulldogs have won at least 31 games in six of the last seven seasons.