Feb. 17, 2012

Box Score

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The Samford baseball team plated two runs in the bottom of the eighth inning to earn a season-opening 4-2 win over Radford Friday evening at Joe Lee Griffin Field.

Sophomore pitcher C.K. Irby (1-0) earned the win on the mound for Samford. Junior Lex Rutledge pitched the final inning to get his first save of the season for the Bulldogs. Kyle Putkonen started the game and pitched 6.0 innings, allowing just one unearned run and striking out seven batters.

"Our guys made some big pitches," Samford head coach Casey Dunn said. "C.K. was phenomenal when he came in, and I was proud of the way he prevented a big inning, and Lex made three big pitches to finish the game. Kyle was phenomenal to start with. Their guy (Eddie Butler) is something special, but I was proud of the way Kyle stepped up and matched him almost pitch-for-pitch for six innings."

Samford was led at the plate by senior first baseman Saxon Butler, going 4-for-4, and senior right fielder Brandon Miller, going 2-for-4 with a home run and two RBI.

Radford's Eddie Miller started the game on the mound and allowed two runs on six hits over 6.0 innings of work. Jason Patten (0-1) pitched the final inning, giving up two runs on three hits to take the loss for the Highlanders.

At the plate, Radford was led by Cory Turner, going 2-for-4. Matt Hillsinger and Jeff Kemp drove in a run each for Radford.

The game was scoreless for the first five innings. Radford jumped on top first with a run in the top of the sixth inning. With one out in the inning, Hillsinger reached base on a Samford error. Kemp then tripled to right-center field to drive in Hillsinger to give the Highlanders a 1-0 lead.

Samford came back to take a 2-1 lead with two runs in the bottom of the sixth inning. Zeth Stone walked to lead off the inning. Butler then singled through the right side of the infield, but Stone was thrown out at third base. Miller then homered to left field to give Samford the lead.

Radford tied the score with a run in the top of the eighth inning. Hillsinger singled up the middle to drive in Zach Costello with no outs in the inning for the game-tying run. With the bases loaded and one out, Irby replaced Arthur Strauss on the mound for Samford. Irby got Matt Mack to pop out and then struck out Ryan Burgess to end the inning in a 2-2 tie.

Samford plated two runs in the bottom of the eighth inning to take the lead for good. Stone singled to lead off the inning, and then Butler singled, moving Stone to third base. Stone then scored on a wild pitch to give Samford a 3-2 lead. With two outs, Kevin Putkonen singled to right-center field to drive in Butler to make the score 4-2.

Rutledge came in to pitch the ninth inning for the Bulldogs. After retiring the first batter of the inning, Rutledge struck out Phil Bondi, but the pitch was in the dirt and got away from catcher Brad Moss, allowing Bondi to reach first base. After Costello struck out for the second out of the inning, Josh Gardiner and Hillsinger walked to load the bases. Rutledge, however, struck out Kemp the end the game and earn the save.

The game was the fourth-straight season-opening win for Samford. The Bulldogs posted nine hits, while allowing Radford six hits.

Saturday's game, originally scheduled for 2 p.m., has been tentatively rescheduled for 10 a.m., weather permitting. Any changes to the schedule will be posted on www.samfordsports.com. Fans can follow Saturday's game via GameTracker and the link below.

GameTracker For Saturday's Game