April 19, 2012
Game Notes
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -
The Samford baseball team will play host to the Western Carolina Catamounts in a three-game Southern Conference series this weekend at Joe Lee Griffin Field. The teams will play Friday at 6 p.m., Saturday at 2 p.m. and Sunday at 1 p.m.
The Bulldogs enter the weekend with a record of 22-15 overall and 10-8 in the SoCon. Samford defeated cross-town rival UAB, 11-0 on Wednesday after losing two-of-three games at College of Charleston over the weekend.
Samford is led offensively by Saxon Butler, batting .361 with seven home runs and 31 RBI. C.K. Irby is batting 349, while Phillip Ervin has a .347 average with seven homers and 34 RBI. Brandon Miller leads the team and the SoCon in home runs with 14 and in RBI with 42.
The Bulldogs are scheduled to start senior right-handed pitcher Charles Basford in Friday's series opener. Basford enters the weekend with a record of 5-1 and an ERA of 3.47.
Samford will start senior right-hander Josh Martin on the mound on Saturday. Martin is currently 6-1 with a 3.44 ERA entering this weekend's series.
Senior right-hander Kyle Putkonen has been listed as Samford's starter for Sunday's series finale. Putkonen has a record of 2-5 and an ERA of 5.25.
The Catamounts are currently 25-12 overall and 10-5 in league play. WCU lost to Gardner-Webb on Tuesday after sweeping Furman over the weekend.
WCU is led at the plate by Tyler White, batting .390 with 12 doubles and 21 RBI. Adam Martin leads the team in home runs with six, while Jacob Hoyle leads WCU in RBI with 35.
The Catamounts have listed Jordan Smith (3-4, 3.14 ERA) as their starting pitcher on Friday. Morgan McKinney (5-1, 2.83 ERA) will start for WCU on Saturday, while Jeremy Null (4-1, 5.40 ERA) will get the starting nod for Sunday's series finale.
Samford and Western Carolina have met nine previous times, with Western Carolina holding a 5-4 advantage in the series. Last season, Samford lost two-of-three games at Western Carolina. The Bulldogs lost the first two games of last year's series, 4-3 (12 innings) and 3-2, before taking game three by a score of 11-6.
Friday's and Sunday's games can be heard locally on WVSU-FM 91.1, or worldwide on the internet at www.samford.edu/wvsu. All three games can be viewed online on the Bulldog Big Screen at www.samfordsports.com. Fans can also follow all three games online via GameTracker at www.samfordsports.com.
