Box Score PHOTO GALLERY

CHARLESTON, S.C. – The third-seeded Samford baseball team earned a 4-2 win over sixth-seeded Wofford in the first round of the Southern Conference Tournament Wednesday evening at Joseph P. Riley, Jr. Park.
 
With the win, Samford improves to 33-24. The Bulldogs advance to take on second-seeded Davidson Thursday evening at 7 p.m. CT/8 p.m. ET. Wofford falls to 30-27, and the Terriers will meet The Citadel in an elimination game Thursday afternoon.
 
Samford pitcher Alex Ledford (11-2) pitched 8.0 strong innings, giving up two runs on seven hits to earn the win on the mound for the Bulldogs. Ledford has now earned a win in his last six outings. Andres Gracia pitched the final inning, giving up no runs on one hit and striking out two batters to pick up his 14^th save of the season.
 
Samford turned in a strong performance defensively as well. The Bulldog infield turned three double plays to end scoring threats by the Terriers.
 
"I thought we played really well defensively," Samford head coach Casey Dunn said. "Alex did a good job of getting some ground balls, and we turned two big double plays at the start of the game that really settled us down. Alex did a great job of really limiting their opportunities."
 
Offensively for Samford, T.J. Dixon drove in a run, going 1-for-4 at the plate. Caleb Bryson and Tyler Filliben also drove in a run each for the Bulldogs.
 
For Wofford, Josh Hyman went 2-for-4 with two RBI to lead the Terriers at the plate. Matthew Millburn (4-6) pitched 7.0 innings, giving up four runs, two earned, on five hits to take the loss on the mound for Wofford.
 
Samford jumped on top first with two runs in the bottom of the third inning. Brandon Powell singled to center field to lead off the inning. Tripp Martin then reached base on a Wofford error, moving Powell to second base. After both runners moved up a base on a sacrifice bunt by Frankie Navarrete, Powell scored on a ground out by Dixon. Martin then scored on a wild pitch for a 2-0 Samford lead.
 
Wofford came back to tie the score with two runs in the top of the fourth inning. With one out in the inning, Seth Neely, James Plaisted and Matt Ramsay each singled to load the bases. Hyman then singled to drive in Neely and Plaisted to knot the score at 2-2.
 
Samford took the lead again with two runs in the bottom of the fourth inning. Drew McWhorter singled to lead off the inning. Heath Quinn then doubled, moving McWhorter to third base. McWhorter then scored on a sacrifice fly by Bryson. Quinn scored the game's final run on a sacrifice fly by Filliben to make the score 4-2.
 
Thursday night's contest against Davidson can be heard locally on WVSU-FM 91.1, or worldwide on the internet at www.samford.edu/wvsu. Live streaming and live stats will also be available through links on the baseball schedule page at www.samfordsports.com.