Feb. 18, 2012

Box Score

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The Samford baseball team dropped a 7-4 decision to the Radford Highlanders Saturday morning at Joe Lee Griffin Field.

Samford was led at the plate by first baseman Saxon Butler, going 2-for-4 with a home run and two RBI. Catcher Brad Moss went 3-for-4 with a double, and second baseman Zeth Stone drove in two runs in a 1-for-4 performance.

Gil Walker (0-1) took the loss on the mound for Samford, pitching 1.0 inning and giving up three runs, just one earned, on three hits. Charles Basford started the game on the mound for Samford, pitching 4.0 innings and allowing two unearned runs on two hits. Michael Gunter, Taylor Hammond, Tyler Vanderheiden, Joseph Burns and Andrea Gracia also saw time on the mound for the Bulldogs.

For Radford at the plate, Jeff Kemp led the way, going 3-for-5 with three doubles and two RBI. Matt Mack and Carl Travers also drove in a run each for the Highlanders.

Jake Palese (1-0) earned the win on the mound for Radford. Palese pitched 2.1 scoreless innings, allowing just two hits. Abram Williams pitched the final inning, retiring the Bulldogs in order to earn his first save of the season.

Radford jumped on top first with a run in the top of the second inning. Zach Costello reached base on a Samford error and later scored when Travers singled down the right-field line for a 1-0 Highlander lead.

Samford tied the score with a run in the bottom of the third inning. Moss singled to lead off the inning. Moss then advanced to second base on a sacrifice bunt by Austin Allison, and third on an infield single by Phillip Ervin. Moss then scored when Stone grounded out to the pitcher to make the score 1-1.

Radford took a 3-1 lead with a run in the fourth inning and another in the fifth. In the fourth inning, Costello reached base on a Samford error and later scored when Travers reached on another Bulldog error. In the fifth inning, Kemp scored from third base when Mack hit a sacrifice fly to center field for a two-run Highlander lead.

Samford took the lead with three runs in the bottom of the fifth inning. Moss doubled to lead off the inning and then moved to third base on an infield single by Allison. With one out in the inning, Stone doubled to right field to drive in Moss to make the score 3-2. Butler then homered to right field to give Samford a 4-3 lead.

Radford came back to take the lead for good with two runs in the top of the sixth inning. Costello and Brett Mollenhauer both scored when Matt Hillsinger reached base on a Samford error to give the Highlanders a 5-4 lead.

The game's final two runs were scored by Radford in the top of the eighth inning to make the score 7-4. Kemp doubled to right field to drive in Josh Gardiner and Costello to give Radford a three-run lead.

In the game, Samford committed six errors. The Bulldogs pounded out 10 hits, compared to nine for Radford.

With the loss, Samford is now 1-1 on the season. Radford improves to 1-1 with the win.

The teams will wrap up their three-game series with a game Sunday at 1 p.m. at Joe Lee Griffin Field. The game can be heard locally on WVSU-FM 91.1, or worldwide on the internet at www.samford.edu/wvsu. Fans can also follow Sunday's game via GameTracker at the link below.

GameTracker For Sunday's Game