Box Score BIRMINGHAM, Ala.—Designated hitter C.K. Irby went 3-for-4 with a double, a home run and four RBI to lead the Samford baseball team to a 12-1 win over Alabama A&M Tuesday night at Joe Lee Griffin Field.
 
Four Samford pitchers saw time on the mound in the win, and they scattered seven hits while allowing just one unearned run. Cole Limbaugh started the game and pitched 2.0 innings, allowing the unearned run on three hits. Patrick Maronde (1-0) earned the win, pitching 4.0 innings, allowing just one hit and striking out four batters. Sean Handlan and Phillip Ervin also saw time on the mound for Samford.
 
“The biggest thing to take from this game was I thought our pitchers did a good job tonight,” Samford head coach Casey Dunn said. “I think all of them went in there and commanded the strike zone well. I thought we did a good job of finishing hitters on the mound as well, and that was the story of the game.”
 
Behind Irby at the plate for Samford, Zeth Stone, Ervin and Patrick McGavin had two hits each. Will Davis drove in two runs in a 1-for-1 performance.
 
For Alabama A&M, Bradley Black and Jordan Benford each went 2-for-4 at the plate. Benford (0-1) took the loss on the mound for the visitors, pitching 4.0 innings, allowing six runs, just four earned, on nine hits.
 
Samford jumped on top first with a run in the bottom of the first inning. Irby singled through the left side of the infield to drive in Frankie Navarrete for a 1-0 Samford lead.
 
Alabama A&M plated its lone run of the game in the top of the second inning to tie the score at 1-1. Black reached base on an infield single to lead off the inning and later scored on a Samford error to tie the score.
 
Samford took control of the game with two runs in the third inning and three more runs in the fourth inning. In the third inning, Irby and McGavin drove in a run each to give Samford a 3-1 lead. In the fourth inning, Irby and Durdaller drove in a run each and Navarrete scored on a wild pitch to make the score 6-1.
 
Samford added three more runs in the sixth inning to push its lead to 9-1. Irby homered to left field to lead off the inning for the first run. Brandon Powell and Richard Greene drove in the final two runs in the inning for an eight-run Samford lead.
 
In the seventh inning, Samford plated two more runs, and they added one final run in the eighth inning to finish the scoring. Davis singled through the right side of the infield to drive in Damon Waller and Ervin for the two runs in the seventh inning. In the eighth inning, Ervin doubled down the right-field line to drive in Danny Rodriguez to make the final score 12-1.
 
With the win, Samford improves to 4-1. Alabama A&M drops to 1-4 with the loss.
 
Samford will return to action on Friday, Feb. 22, when the Bulldogs travel to Starkville, Miss., to take part in the Diamond Classic, hosted by Mississippi State. Samford will take on Purdue Friday at 2:30 p.m., Mississippi State Saturday at 3 p.m., Purdue Sunday at 11 a.m. and Mississippi State Sunday at 3 p.m.