Feb. 7, 2012

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - Baseball America picked Samford to finish second in the Southern Conference when the publication released its preseason predictions recently.

Samford finished in a tie for third place in the league last season after finishing with an 18-12 league mark. Overall, the Bulldogs set a school record for wins with a 37-23 record.

This season, the Bulldogs return seven of their eight position starters and all three of their weekend starters on the mound.

The publication also picked its NCAA Tournament field, with Samford and Georgia Southern representing the SoCon.

Georgia Southern was picked to win the Southern Conference title, while College of Charleston was picked to finish third. Elon came in fourth in the preseason poll, followed by Appalachian State, UNC Greensboro, Western Carolina, The Citadel, Furman, Wofford and Davidson.

Baseball America also picked its Top 10 Prospects from each conference. Samford players occupied four of the 10 spots on the SoCon list. Left-handed pitcher Lex Rutledge was the highest rated Bulldog at No. 3. Outfielder Phillip Ervin was fifth on the list, while outfielder Brandon Miller was sixth and pitcher/infielder C.K. Irby was rated eighth on the list.

Rutledge, who is expected to move back to the closer role he excelled in as a freshman, led the team in strikeouts as a sophomore last season with 79. He also posted a 3.71 ERA in 2011.

Ervin led the team in batting as a freshman in 2011, with a .371 average. He tallied 15 doubles, four home runs and 41 RBI last season.

Miller led the team with 16 home runs, just one short of the Samford record, last season. Miller batted .270 with 43 RBI and a .582 slugging percentage in 2011.

Irby posted a 5-1 record as a freshman 2011. He finished with an ERA of 2.48 in 36.1 innings of work.

Samford opens the 2012 season with a three-game home series against Radford, Feb. 17-19. The season-opener on Feb. 17 is scheduled for a 6 p.m. start from Joe Lee Griffin Field.