May 11, 2012

Game Notes

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The Samford baseball team will play host to the Southern Conference leading Appalachian State Mountaineers in a three-game series this weekend at Joe Lee Griffin Field. The teams will play a doubleheader Saturday at 1 p.m., and a single game Sunday at 1 p.m.

The Mountaineers enter the weekend with a record of 34-11 overall and a SoCon-best 18-6 in league play. The Bulldogs enter the weekend with a record of 32-17 overall and 18-9 in SoCon play. Samford is currently in third place in the league standings, just a game and a half behind Appalachian State.

Samford won two-of-three games at Georgia Southern over the weekend. The Bulldogs defeated the Eagles, 5-4 on Friday and again by a score of 6-5 on Saturday. GSU avoided the sweep by defeating Samford, 3-2, in Sunday's series finale.

Samford is led at the plate by Saxon Butler, batting .350 with 11 home runs and 48 RBI. Phillip Ervin and C.K. Irby are both hitting .348 for the Bulldogs. Brandon Miller is tied for the national lead in home runs with a Samford-record 18 so far this season.

Samford has listed senior right-handed pitcher Charles Basford (8-1, 3.87 ERA) as its starting pitcher for the first game on Saturday. Senior right-hander Josh Martin (9-1, 3.42 ERA) will start the second game of Saturday's doubleheader. Senior right-hander Kyle Putkonen (2-5, 5.85 ERA) is scheduled to start Sunday's series finale.

Appalachian State won two-of-three games from UNC Greensboro last weekend. The Mountaineers won the first two games of the series by scores of 8-7 and 5-4, before dropping game three, 10-8.

ASU is led at the plate by Tyler Tewell, batting .391 with five home runs and 37 RBI. Daniel Kassouf leads the Mountaineers in home runs with 16 and in RBI with 53 so far this season.

Appalachian State has named right-handed pitcher Ryan Arrowood (9-0, 3.77 ERA) as its starting pitcher for the first game of the series. Right-hander Seth Grant (6-2, 3.08 ERA) will start the second game of Saturday's doubleheader, while left-hander Rob Marcello (6-3, 4.04 ERA) is listed as ASU's starter for Sunday's contest.

Samford and Appalachian State have met 10 previous times, with ASU holding a 6-4 advantage in the series. Last season, Samford won two-of-three games in the regular-season series, and the Bulldogs defeated the Mountaineers twice in the Southern Conference Tournament. Samford has won the last four meetings in the series.

All three games can be heard locally on WVSU-FM 91.1, or worldwide on the internet at www.samford.edu/wvsu. The games can also be viewed online on the Bulldog Big Screen at www.samfordsports.com. Fans can also follow the games online via GameTracker at www.samfordsports.com.