GAME NOTES
BIRMINGHAM, Ala.—The Samford baseball team will open Southern Conference play with a three-game series at The Citadel this weekend. The teams will play Friday at 5 p.m. (CT), Saturday at 2:30 p.m. (CT) and Sunday at 12 p.m. (CT).
 
Samford enters the weekend with a record of 9-5 on the young season. The Bulldogs are coming off a 7-6 win at Alabama A&M Wednesday afternoon.
 
Samford is led at the plate by Tommy Corbin, batting .417 with three doubles and 10 RBI. C.K. Irby is batting .396 with two home runs and a team-high 16 RBI. Phillip Ervin leads the team in home runs with six.
 
On the mound, Samford will start right-handed pitcher C.K. Irby (2-1, 4.50 ERA) in Friday's series-opener. Left-hander Eric Wright (2-0, 1.77 ERA) is scheduled to start on Saturday, and right-hander Alex Milazzo (3-0, 3.00 ERA) will get the starting nod in Sunday's contest.
 
The Citadel has a record of 8-5 so far this season. The Bulldogs last played on Wednesday afternoon, earning a 3-1 win at Winthrop.
 
The Citadel is led offensively by Tyler Griffin, batting .392 with four home runs and 16 RBI. Drew DeKerlegand  is batting .390, while Joe Jackson has a .382 average with 16 RBI.
 
Samford has an all-time record of 8-4 in 12 previous meetings with The Citadel. All 12 meetings have come since Samford joined the Southern Conference prior to the 2009 season. Last season, Samford won two-of-three games from The Citadel at Joe Lee Griffin Field. Samford won the first two games by scores of 10-5 and 11-3, before falling in game three by a score of 5-4.
 
In last year's series with The Citadel, Saxon Butler hit .462 with a double, a home run and six RBI to lead Samford. Zeth Stone hit .429, while Irby hit .417 in the series. Brandon Miller homered twice in the series. Pitchers Charles Basford and Kyle Putkonen both earned wins for Samford.
 
All three games can be heard locally on WVSU-FM 91.1, or worldwide on the internet at www.samford.edu/wvsu. Live stats will also be available at www.citadelsports.com.