Box Score BOONE, N.C.—The Samford baseball team dropped a 10-5 decision to Appalachian State in the first game of a three-game Southern Conference series Friday night at Smith Stadium.
 
With the loss, Samford drops to 22-21 overall and 8-11 in Southern Conference play. Appalachian State improves top 23-15 overall and 11-10 in league play.
 
Samford was led at the plate by C.K. Irby, going 5-for-5 with two RBI. Caleb Bryson went 2-for-3 with a home run and two RBI. Zeth Stone went 3-for-5 with two doubles, while Phillip Ervin drove in a run in a 1-for-5 performance.
 
Alex Milazzo (6-1) pitched 4.0 innings, giving up seven runs, just five earned, on six hits to take the loss on the mound for Samford. Parker Curry, Charles Terry and Patrick Maronde also saw time on the mound for the Bulldogs.
 
For Appalachian State, Preston Troutman went 3-for-4 with a home run and an RBI. William Head went 2-for-4 with a double and four RBI, while Hector Crespo went 2-for-5 with two RBI. Jamie Nunn (8-3) pitched 8.0 innings, allowing three runs on nine hits to earn the win for the Mountaineers.
 
Appalachian State jumped on top with five runs in the bottom of the third inning. A walk by Michael Pierson and singles by Josh Zumbrook and Troutman loaded the bases with no outs. Crespo then singled to drive in Pierson and Zumbrook for a 2-0 ASU lead. Head then doubled to drive in Troutman and Crespo to make the score 4-0. With one out in the inning, Noah Holmes tripled to drive in Head for a 5-0 Appalachian State lead.
 
Samford came back with two runs in the top of the fourth inning to cut the Appalachian State lead to 5-2. Irby reached base on an infield single to lead off the inning. With one out, Bryson hit a home run to left field for Samford's first two runs of the game.
 
Appalachian State plated two unearned runs in the bottom of the fourth inning to push its lead to 7-2. Pierson and Troutman both reached base on Samford errors. Head later singled to drive in Pierson and Troutman for a five-run ASU lead.
 
Samford added a run in the top of the fifth inning to make the score 7-3. With two outs in the inning, Stone doubled and Ervin singled. Irby then reached base on an infield single to drive in Stone to pull Samford to within four runs.
 
The Mountaineers added two runs in the bottom of the sixth inning to make the score 9-3. Will Callaway singled to drive in Troutman and Crespo for a six-run ASU lead.
 
Appalachian State plated one final run in the bottom of the eighth inning. Troutman led the inning off with a solo home run to make the score 10-3.
 
Samford added two runs in the top of the ninth inning to make the final score 10-5. With one out in the inning, Danny Rodriguez singled, and Stone doubled, moving Rodriguez to third base. Ervin then grounded out to second base, driving in Rodriguez. Irby then singled to drive in Stone for the game's final run.
 
Samford and Appalachian State will continue their series with a game Saturday at 2 p.m. (CT). The game 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 through links on the baseball schedule page at www.samfordsports.com.