March 23, 2012

Box Score

SPARTANBURG, S.C. - Samford senior pitcher Kyle Putkonen gave up just one hit in 7.1 innings of work to lead the Bulldog baseball team to a 5-0 win over Wofford in the first game of a three-game Southern Conference series Friday evening at King Field.

"Kyle was phenomenal tonight," Samford head coach Casey Dunn said. "Last week, he took a big step towards being what we need him to be, and today he took that final step to being that Friday night guy that we need. It's comforting knowing that he is back pitching the way he is capable of pitching."

The win marked Samford's second shutout of the season, to go along with a 19-0 win over Alabama A&M on Feb. 21. This was also the first shutout of a Southern Conference opponent since winning at Elon, 11-0, on March 26, 2011.

Putkonen (1-3) struck out four batters and threw 130 pitches in earning the win. He took a no-hitter into the eighth inning before James Plaisted singled up the middle to give Wofford its first of just two hits on the night. Arthur Strauss and Gil Walker combined to pitch the final 1.2 innings to close the game out.

For Samford at the plate, Brad Moss went 3-for-5 with a double and two RBI. Zeth Stone went 3-for4 at the plate for the Bulldogs. Kevin Putkonen hit his first home run of the season in a 1-for-3 performance. Phillip Ervin and C.K. Irby drove in a run each for the Bulldogs.

For Wofford, Plaisted and Mac Doyle had one hit each to account for the Terriers' only two hits. Brandon Yarusi (2-2) pitched 7.0 innings, allowing three runs on five hits and striking out nine batters to take the loss for the Terriers.

Samford jumped out to an early lead with two runs in the top of the third inning. Austin Allison walked to lead off the inning. Stone then singled and Allison moved to second base. Moss then doubled to center field to drive in Allison and Stone for a 2-0 Samford lead.

The Bulldogs added another run in the top of the fourth inning. With two outs in the inning, Kevin Putkonen hit his first home run of the season to give Samford a 3-0 lead.

Samford plated the game's final two runs in the top of the eighth inning. Moss singled to left field to get things started. After Moss advanced to second base on a ground out by Saxon Butler, Ervin doubled to left field to drive in Moss for a 4-0 Samford lead. Irby then singled to center field to drive in Ervin to make the score 5-0.

The teams will continue the three-game series with a game Saturday at 2 p.m. (CT). 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 via GameTracker on Samford's official athletics website, www.samfordsports.com.