April 16, 2012

Game Notes

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The Samford baseball team will take on cross-town rival UAB in a pair of midweek games this week. The teams will play Tuesday evening at 6:30 p.m. at UAB's Young Memorial Field, and they will then play Wednesday night at 6 p.m. at Joe Lee Griffin Field.

The Bulldogs enter the week with a record of 21-15 overall and 10-8 in the SoCon. Samford lost two of three games at College of Charleston over the weekend.

Samford is led offensively by Saxon Butler, batting .371 with seven home runs and 31 RBI. Phillip Ervin is batting .347 with six home runs and 31 RBI. Brandon Miller leads the team and the SoCon in home runs with 14 and in RBI with 42.

Samford will start left-handed pitcher Taylor Hammond in Tuesday's game. Hammond enters the week with an ERA of 1.08 in 8.1 innings of work so far this season. Samford has not named a starter for Wednesday's game.

The Blazers are currently 21-16 overall and 4-8 in Conference USA. UAB lost two-of-three games to Tulane over the weekend.

UAB is led at the plate by Jeff Schalk, batting .344 with a home run and 14 RBI. Ryan Ussery leads the team in home runs with three, while Patrick Palmeiro is the team leader in RBI with 23.

The Blazers are scheduled to start Alex Luna on the mound in Tuesday's game. Luna is currently 1-0 with a 4.05 ERA. UAB has not named a starter for Wednesday's game.

Entering this week's meetings, Samford has won the last three meetings against UAB, including two wins last season. In seven-plus seasons under head coach Casey Dunn, Samford has a record of 8-6 against UAB.

Both games can be heard locally on WVSU-FM 91.1, or worldwide on the internet at www.samford.edu/wvsu. Fans can also follow both games online via GameTracker at www.samfordsports.com.