March 17, 2012

Box Score

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The Samford baseball team plated seven runs in the sixth inning to break open a close game on its way to an 11-1 Southern Conference win over Furman Saturday afternoon at Joe Lee Griffin Field.

With the win, Samford improves to 12-7 overall and 3-2 in Southern Conference play. Furman drops to 11-9 overall and 1-4 in league play.

Samford was led at the plate by Saxon Butler and Phillip Ervin, both going 3-for-5 with two RBI. Brad Moss went 2-for-5 with two RBI. Tommy Corbin hit a home run in a 1-for-3 performance.

Charles Basford (4-0) pitched 7.0 innings, giving up one run on five hits to earn the win on the mound for Samford. Basford struck out five batters, while allowing two walks. Michael Gunter and Andres Gracia also saw time on the mound for Samford.

For Furman, Will Miller drove in the Paladins' lone run in a 1-for-4 performance. Nate Smith (1-3) tossed 5.0 innings, giving up four runs on seven hits in taking the loss on the mound for Furman.

Samford jumped on top early with two runs in the bottom of the first inning. Zeth Stone walked to lead off the inning. With one out in the inning, Butler singled and Stone moved to third base, while Butler moved to second base on the throw. Ervin then singled to left field to drive in Stone and Butler for a 2-0 Samford lead.

Furman came back with a run in the top of the fifth inning to cut the Samford lead to 2-1. Miller singled to drive in Harrison Farmer to pull Furman to within one run.

Samford took control of the game by scoring seven runs in the sixth inning to take a 9-1 lead. Moss and Butler drove in two runs each to lead Samford in the inning. Kevin Putkonen, Austin Allison and Corbin drove in a run each in the inning for the Bulldogs.

The Bulldogs added two more runs in the bottom of the eighth inning to make the final score 11-1. Ervin singled to shortstop to get things started. With one out, Corbin homered to left field for the game's final two runs.

The teams will conclude the series with the rubber 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 the game online via GameTracker at the link below.

GameTracker for Sunday's Game