Box Score GREENVILLE, S.C.— The top-seeded Western Carolina baseball team hit five home runs on its way to a 13-7 win over eighth-seeded Samford in the first round of the Southern Conference Tournament Wednesday afternoon at Fluor Field.
 
With the loss, Samford drops to 27-29 on the season. The Bulldogs will now play Appalachian State in an elimination game Thursday morning at 9 a.m. (CT). Western Carolina improves to 39-18, and the Catamounts will take on The Citadel Thursday evening.
 
Samford was led in the loss by Patrick McGavin, going 4-for-5 with two doubles and an RBI. Zeth Stone went 3-for-5 with a double, while Phillip Ervin and Drew McWhorter had two hits and an RBI each.
 
Eric Wright (5-4) pitched 3.2 innings, giving up seven runs on seven hits to take the loss on the mound for Samford. Charles Terry and Sean Handlan also saw time on the mound for the Bulldogs.
 
For Western Carolina, Tyler White was 3-for-5 with two home runs and four RBI. Aaron Attaway went 4-for-5 with a home run and three RBI. Julian Ridings went 2-for-3 with a home run and two RBI, while Adam Martin went 2-for-5 with a home run and three RBI.
 
Jeremy Null (9-2) pitched 7.0 innings, giving up three runs, just two earned, on eight hits to earn the win for the Catamounts. Jonathan Waszak and Tyler Powell combined to pitch the final two innings to close the game for Western Carolina.
 
Samford jumped on top first with a run in the top of the first inning. After Stone reached base on an infield single to lead off the inning, Stone was retired when Ervin reached base on a fielder's choice. C.K. Irby then doubled to left-center field to drive in Ervin for a 1-0 Samford lead.
 
Western Carolina came back with three runs in the bottom of the first inning to take a 3-1 lead. Attaway singled and Ridings walked to lead off the inning. With two outs, Martin hit a three-run home run to left field for a two-run Catamount lead.
 
The Catamounts plated two more runs in the bottom of the second inning to push their lead to 5-1. White doubled to drive in Luke Gragg and Cody Jones to give WCU a four-run lead.
 
Samford plated a run in the top of the third inning to cut the WCU lead to 5-2. Stone led the inning off with a double. After moving to third base on an error, Stone scored on a ground out by Irby to bring Samford to within three runs.
 
The Bulldogs added another run in the top of the fourth inning. McGavin doubled to lead off the inning. McWhorter then singled, moving McGavin to third base. Brandon Haarer then singled to drive in McGavin to make the score 5-3.
 
Western Carolina added two runs in the bottom of the fourth inning. Attaway and Ridings hit back-to-back solo home runs to make the score 7-3. The Catamounts struck again in the bottom of the seventh inning when White led the inning off with another homer to give WCU an 8-3 lead.
 
The Catamounts plated five runs in the bottom of the eighth inning to push their lead to 13-3. Attaway drove in three runs with a triple, and White hit a solo home run in the inning, the fifth of the game for the Catamounts. Ridings and Gragg also drove in a run each in the eighth inning for a 10-run Western Carolina lead.
 
Samford came back with four runs in the top of the ninth inning to make the final score 13-7. Ervin, Irby, McGavin and McWhorter drove in a run each for Samford in the ninth inning, but the Bulldogs could get no closer, eventually falling to the top-seeded Catamounts.
 
Samford's Thursday elimination game against Appalachian State is scheduled for a 9 a.m. (CT) start. The game can be heard locally on WVSU-FM 91.1 or worldwide on the internet at www.samford.edu/wvsu. Live stats and video will be available at www.soconsports.com.