May 13, 2012

Box Score

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The Samford baseball team dropped the final game of its final Southern Conference series of the season, 9-7, to league-leading Appalachian State Sunday afternoon at Joe Lee Griffin Field.

With the Samford loss, Appalachian State wins the series, two games to one. Samford drops to 33-19 overall and 19-11 in Southern Conference play, while ASU improves to 36-12 overall and 20-7 in league play. The 19 conference wins for Samford are the most the team has earned since joining the SoCon prior to the 2009 season.

"At the end of the day, we didn't do the small things you have to do to win a baseball game," Samford head coach Casey Dunn said. "You have to give them credit because they were able to do a little more than we did."

After falling behind, 3-1 in the first three innings, Samford came back with three runs in the bottom of the fifth inning to take a 4-3 lead. Saxon Butler and Phillip Ervin led the inning off with back-to-back singles to get things started. Brandon Miller then singled to left-center field to drive in Butler, and Ervin scored on an ASU error to tie the game at 3-3. Miller, who had moved to third base on the Mountaineer error, scored on a ground out by C.K. Irby to give Samford the 4-3 lead.

The Bulldogs' lead, however, did not last long as Appalachian State plated four runs in the top of the sixth inning to take the lead again at 7-4. Daniel Kassouf led the inning off with a double down the left-field line. Tyler Tewell then singled to right field, moving Kassouf to third base. Brandon Burris then singled to left field to drive in Kassouf to tie the score at 4-4.

Trey Holmes then moved Burris to second base and Tewell to third on a sacrifice bunt. Preston Troutman then reached base on a dropped fly ball, scoring Tewell to give ASU the 5-4 lead. Noah Holmes then singled to right field, driving in Troutman and Burris for a 7-4 ASU lead.

The Mountaineers added two runs in the top of the eighth inning to push their lead to 9-4. With one out in the inning, Troutman walked. With two outs in the inning, Troutman stole second base and then scored on a single by Hector Crespo. Tyler Zupcic then walked, and Crespo advanced to third base on a wild pitch. Will Callaway then singled to right field to drive in Crespo for a 9-4 Mountaineer lead.

Samford came back with three runs in the bottom of the eighth inning to cut the ASU lead to 9-7. Tommy Corbin and Tyler Filliben were both hit by a pitch to lead off the inning. Zeth Stone then walked to load the bases with no outs. Brad Moss then walked to bring in Corbin for Samford's first run of the inning. Butler then walked to bring in Filliben to make the score 9-6. With one out in the inning, Miller walked to score Stone to make the score 9-7. ASU relief pitcher Tyler Moore then came into pitch for the Mountaineers and got Irby to ground into a double play to end the inning.

Samford started the bottom of the ninth inning with back-to-back singles by Christiaan Durdaller and Corbin. Moore, however, struck out Filliben and got Stone to ground into a double play to end the game.

For the game, Samford was led at the plate by Corbin, going 3-for-4. Moss, Durdaller and Filliben had two hits each for the Bulldogs. Miller drove in two runs in a 1-for-3 performance. Joseph Burns (3-1) pitched 2.1 innings in relief, giving up four runs, just three earned, on four hits to take the loss on the mound for Samford.

Appalachian State was led at the plate by Crespo, Callaway and Kassouf, with two hits and an RBI each. Jeremy Dowdy had a home run and two RBI, going 1-for-3 at the plate. Jamie Nunn (5-0) pitched 2.1 innings in relief, giving up two runs on three hits to earn the win. Moore tossed the final 1.2 innings, giving up no runs on two hits to pick up his first save of the season.

Samford will play its final home game of the 2012 season on Tuesday when the Bulldogs play host to the fifth-ranked Florida Gators. The game is scheduled for a 6:30 p.m. start from Joe Lee Griffin Field. The game can be heard locally on WVSU-FM 91.1, or worldwide on the internet at www.samford.edu/wvsu. The game can also 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.