April 1, 2012

Elon 5, Samford 3 (18 inn.) Box Score
Elon 7, Samford 7 Box Score

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The Samford baseball team resumed its suspended game with Elon from Saturday night, falling to the Phoenix, 5-3 in 18 innings on Sunday. The Bulldogs then dropped game three of the series, 7-5 Sunday afternoon at Joe Lee Griffin Field.

With the wins, Elon earns the sweep of the series with Samford. The Bulldogs fall to 17-11 overall and 7-5 in the Southern Conference play with the losses. Elon improves to 18-11 overall and 11-4 in SoCon games.

The first game was originally the second game of a doubleheader to be played on Saturday. However, the game was suspended due to inclement weather Saturday evening in the top of the seventh inning with the score tied at 1-1.

When the game resumed on Sunday, Elon plated a run in the top of the seventh inning and Samford answered with a run in the bottom of the seventh to tie the score at 2-2.

The score remained tied until the 17th inning when Elon plated a run in the top of the inning. Sebastian Gomez singled with one out to start the rally. He later scored on a balk to give the Phoenix a 3-2 lead.

Samford came back to tie the score again with a run in the bottom of the 17th inning. Phillip Ervin led the inning off with a solo home run to make the score 3-3 and force an 18th inning.

In the top of the 18th, Elon plated two runs to take a 5-3 lead. Quinn Bower singled to center field to drive in Eric Serra for the first run of the inning. Niko Fraser later singled up the middle to drive in Bower for a two-run Elon lead.

In the bottom of the 18th inning, Samford loaded the bases with two outs, but the Bulldogs were unable to plate any runs as Elon held on for the win.

The game was the longest contest in Samford baseball history, and was just two innings away from tying the Southern Conference record of 20 innings. Samford pounded out 18 hits in the loss, while Elon tallied 15 hits.

Samford was led at the plate by Saxon Butler, going 4-for-6 with three doubles and an RBI. Ervin went 4-for-7 with a home run and two RBI. Zeth Stone went 3-for-8, while Brad Moss went 2-for-8.

Michael Gunter (0-1) pitched 1.0 inning in relief, allowing two runs, just one earned, on one hit, to take the loss on the mound for Samford. Charles Basford, C.K. Irby, Joseph Burns, Tyler Vanderheiden, Lex Rutledge and Taylor Hammond also saw time on the mound for Samford.

For Elon, Alex Swim went 5-for-9 at the plate. Niko Fraser went 2-for-9 with two RBI. Nate Young (3-1) pitched 2.0 innings, giving up one run on three hits to earn the win on the mound for the Phoenix.

In the final game, Elon built a four-run lead and a late rally by Samford fell just short as the Phoenix completed the series sweep with a 7-5 win.

Elon plated one run in the first inning and Samford came back with a run in the bottom of the second inning to tie the score at 1-1.

The Phoenix took a 4-1 lead with three runs in the top of the third inning. Samford then came back with two runs in the bottom of the third to cut the Elon lead to 4-3.

Elon added one run in the fourth inning and two more in the seventh to push its lead to four runs at 7-3.

Samford came back with two runs in the bottom of the ninth inning to cut the lead to7-5. Brandon Miller doubled down the left-field line to drive in Stone and Moss to pull Samford to within two runs.

The Bulldogs had runners on second base and third base with one out, but they were unable to drive in any more runs and the game ended with a 7-5 Elon victory.

In the final game for Samford, Miller went 2-for-5 with a double and two RBI. Moss went 2-for-4 with an RBI. Josh Martin (6-1) pitched 6.0 innings, giving up five runs on nine hits to take the loss on the mound for Samford.

Elon was led in the final game by Jake Luce, going 3-for-5 with a double, a triple and three RBI. Andrew MacDonald (4-1) pitched 3.0 scoreless innings in relief to pick up the win for the Phoenix. Jason Antonelli tossed the final two-thirds of an inning to earn his first save of the season.

Samford will return to action on Tuesday, April 3, when the Bulldogs play at Alabama A&M. The game is scheduled for a 3 p.m. start from Normal, Ala.