April 23, 2012

Game Notes

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The Samford baseball team will play host to Alabama Tuesday evening at 6 p.m. at Joe Lee Griffin Field, and the Bulldogs will play at UAB Wednesday evening at UAB's Young Memorial Field.

At Tuesday night's game, Samford will hold a Diamond Dig, sponsored by Steed's Jewelers. All women in attendance will be given a spoon and, at the conclusion of the game, will be allowed to dig for a diamond buried somewhere in the infield.

The Bulldogs enter the week with a record of 25-15 overall and 13-8 in the Southern Conference. Samford swept a three-game series with Western Carolina over the weekend.

Samford is led offensively by C.K. Irby, batting .353 with three home runs and 31 RBI. Saxon Butler is batting .346 with seven homers and 32 RBI. Brandon Miller leads the SoCon in home runs with 16 and is tied for the league lead in RBI with 45.

Samford will start senior right-handed pitcher Gil Walker on the mound Tuesday night. Walker enters the game with a record of 1-1 and a 1.53 ERA. Samford has not named a starter for Wednesday night's game.

The Crimson Tide is currently 16-25 overall and 6-12 in the SEC. Alabama won two-of-three games from Vanderbilt over the weekend.

Ben Moore leads Alabama at the plate, batting .369 with two home runs and 23 RBI. Taylor Dugas is batting .331 with two homers and 20 RBI. Jared Reaves and Brett Booth share the team lead in home runs with four, with Booth leading the team in RBI with 28.

Alabama is scheduled to start right-handed pitcher Case Nixon in Tuesday night's contest. Nixon is currently 1-1 with a 2.76 ERA on the season.

Under head coach Casey Dunn, Samford is 6-7 against the Crimson Tide. Samford has won four of its last six games against Alabama. In the last 10 meetings, the series is tied, 5-5.

UAB enters the week with a record of 23-18 overall and 4-8 in Conference USA. The Blazers won two-of-three games in a non-conference series with Gardner-Webb over the weekend.

UAB is led at the plate by Jeff Schalk, batting .324 with a home run and 17 RBI. Ryan Ussery leads UAB in home runs with four, while Patrick Palmeiro is the team leader in RBI with 25. UAB, which will host Kennesaw State on Tuesday evening, has not named a starting pitcher for Wednesday night's contest.

Samford has won its last five meetings with UAB. The teams met last week, with Samford coming away with an 11-0 win at Joe Lee Griffin Field.

Both games can be heard locally on WVSU-FM 91.1, or worldwide on the internet at www.samford.edu/wvsu. Tuesday night's game can also be viewed online on the Bulldog Big Screen at www.samfordsports.com. Fans can follow both games online via GameTracker at www.samfordsports.com.