March 5, 2012

Box Score

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The Samford baseball team defeated Penn State, 7-3, Monday evening at Joe Lee Griffin Field. The win gives Samford the series win, two games to one.

With the win, Samford improves to 8-4. Penn State falls to 2-7 with the loss.

Samford was led at the plate by C.K. Irby, going 3-for-4 with an RBI. Zeth Stone went 3-for-3 at the plate, while Philip Ervin was 2-for-3 with an RBI. Brandon Miller hit his seventh home run of the season in a 1-for-3 performance.

Josh Martin (3-0) pitched 7.0 innings, giving up two unearned runs on seven hits and striking out 10 batters to earn the win on the mound for Samford. Irby earned the save, coming in to get the final out in the ninth inning.

For Penn State, Joey DeBernardis went 2-for-5 with two RBI. Sean Deegan went 2-for-5 with an RBI. Zach Ell went 2-for-3 for the Nittany Lions.

Steven Hill (0-2) pitched 7.1 innings, giving up seven runs, six earned, on 10 hits to take the loss for Penn State. Hill struck out six batters and allowed three walks.

The teams were scoreless until the bottom of the fourth inning when Samford plated two runs to take a 2-0 lead. Saxon Butler singled to left-center field to drive in Stone for the first run of the game. Butler later scored when Ervin singled up the middle for a two-run Samford lead.

Penn State tied the score with two runs in the top of the fifth inning. DeBernardis singled to center field to drive in Ell and Steve Snyder to tie the score at 2-2.

Samford took the lead for good with three runs in the bottom of the sixth inning. With one out in the inning, Miller homered to left-center field to make the score 3-2. Irby singled up the middle to drive in Ervin to give Samford a two-run lead. Christiaan Durdaller scored the inning's final run on Brad Moss' sacrifice bunt to make the score 5-2.

The Bulldogs plated a run in the seventh inning and another in the eighth to push its lead to 7-2. In the seventh inning, Stone scored from third base on a wild pitch. In the eighth inning, Tyler Filliben singled through the left side of the infield to drive in Irby for a five-run Samford lead.

Penn State plated one final run in the ninth inning to make the final score 7-3. Deegan singled up the middle to drive in Ell for the game's final run.

Samford will next be in action Wednesday evening when the Bulldogs play host to in-state rival Jacksonville State. The game is scheduled for a 6 p.m. start from Joe Lee Griffin Field. The game can be viewed online via the Bulldog Big Screen at www.samfordsports.com.