April 20, 2012

Box Score

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The Samford baseball team plated four runs in the seventh inning to earn a 6-3, come-from-behind win over Western Carolina in the first game of a three-game Southern Conference series Friday evening at Joe Lee Griffin Field.

For Samford at the plate, Zeth Stone went 2-for-4 with an RBI. Phillip Ervin went 2-for5 for the Bulldogs. Brad Moss, Brandon Miller, C.K. Irby and Austin Allison had an RBI each in the win for Samford.

Charles Basford (6-1) overcame a slow start to earn the win on the mound for Samford. Basford pitched 7.2 innings, giving up three runs on seven hits and striking out four batters. Joseph Burns pitched the final 1.1 innings, allowing just one hit to pick up his first save of the season.

"I did everything I could to keep battling because I knew we were going to have a big inning," Basford said. "I did everything I could to give my team a chance to come out with the win. I wasn't in a rhythm for the first three innings, but I just tried to keep battling and give the team a chance."

Western Carolina was led at the plate by Aaron Attaway, going 2-for-3. Tyler White had a double and two RBI in a 1-for-4 performance. Ross Heffley had a double and one RBI, going 1-for-3 at the plate.

Jeremy Sluder (1-2) took the loss on the mound for the Catamounts. Sluder tossed two-thirds of an inning, giving up four runs, just two earned, on one hit.

Western Carolina jumped on top first with a run in the top of the first inning. Attaway singled to lead off the inning, and Cody Jones reached base on a fielder's choice, with Attaway being thrown out at second base. After Jones advanced to second base on a wild pitch, he scored when Heffley doubled down the left-field line for a 1-0 WCU lead.

Samford came back with two runs in the bottom of the first inning to take a 2-1 lead. Stone singled up the middle and advanced to second base on a wild pitch to start the rally. Moss then walked and Saxon Butler was hit by a pitch to load the bases. With one out in the inning, Miller walked with the bases loaded to bring Stone home to tie the score. Irby then hit a sacrifice fly to right field to drive in Moss for a 2-1 Samford lead.

Western Carolina answered with two runs in the top of the third inning to take a 3-2 lead. Julian Ridings singled and Attaway walked to get things started for the Catamounts. Ridings then moved to third base and Attaway to second on a sacrifice bunt by Jones. After Heffley was intentionally walked to load the bases, White doubled to right-center field to drive in Attaway and Ridings to give the Catamounts the lead.

The score remained 3-2 until Samford came back with four runs in the seventh inning to take a 6-3 lead.

Ervin singled through the left side of the infield to lead off the seventh inning. With one out in the inning, Irby walked and Ervin moved to second base. With two outs in the inning, Christiaan Durdaller was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Allison was then hit by a pitch to bring home Ervin to tie the game. Stone then reached base on an infield single, driving in Irby, and a Western Carolina error allowed Durdaller to score for a two-run Samford lead. The final run was scored when Moss reached base on a fielder's choice to drive in Allison to push Samford's lead to three runs.

With the win, Samford improves to 23-15 overall and 11-8 in Southern Conference play. Western Carolina drops to 25-13 overall and 10-6 in league play.

The teams will continue their three-game series with a game Saturday at 2 p.m. at Joe Lee Griffin Field. The game can be viewed online on the Bulldog Big Screen at www.samfordsports.com. Fans can also follow the game online via GameTracker at www.samfordsports.com.