Box Score BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The Samford baseball team defeated Alabama A&M, 5-1, Tuesday evening at Joe Lee Griffin Field.
 
"It was a solid effort," Samford head coach Casey Dunn said. "We took advantage of some walks and some opportunities they gave us. We had a couple of big hits, but we have to be better offensively."
 
Samford starting pitcher Cody Pugh (4-4) pitched 6.0 innings, giving up one unearned run on two hits to earn the win on the mound for Samford. The 6.0 innings marked Pugh's longest outing of the season, and his six strikeouts tied a season high. Chase Traffica pitched 2.0 hitless innings in relief, striking out four batters. Mark Donham struck out three batters in the ninth inning to close the game for Samford.
 
"I was really encouraged with what our guys did on the mound," Dunn said. "I thought Cody did a really nice job. This was a solid outing by Cody. Chase, I thought was phenomenal, especially on his first time back after dealing with some arm issues."
 
Offensively, Samford was led by Hunter Swilling, going 3-for-3 with an RBI. Drew McWhorter went 2-for-4 at the plate for Samford.
 
Alabama A&M was led by Justen Folger, driving in the Bulldogs' lone run, going 1-for-2 at the plate. Payden Khun (0-1) pitched two-thirds of an inning, giving up three runs on two hits to take the loss on the mound for Alabama A&M.
 
Samford jumped out to an early lead with three runs in the bottom of the first inning. T.J. Dixon was hit by a pitch to lead off the inning. Jared Watson then doubled to left-center field to drive in Dixon for the game's first run.
 
After Watson advanced to third base on a wild pitch, McWhorter walked. Heath Quinn then hit a sacrifice fly to left field to drive in Watson for a 2-0 Samford lead. With one out, Swilling doubled down the left-field line, moving McWhorter to third base. After Frankie Navarrete walked to load the bases, Tripp Martin walked, driving in McWhorter to make the score 3-0.
 
Alabama A&M plated its lone run of the game in the top of the third inning. Folger was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded to score Dustin Dhanani to cut the Samford lead to 3-1.
 
Samford added a run in the bottom of the third inning to make the score 4-1. Quinn walked and Caleb Bryson reached base on an error, moving Quinn to third base. Swilling then reached base on an infield single, driving in Quinn for a three-run Samford lead.
 
Samford plated one final run in the bottom of the fifth inning to make the final score 5-1. Swilling singled up the middle to lead off the inning. Navarrete and Richard Greene were both hit by a pitch to load the bases with one out. Dixon then hit a sacrifice fly to drive in Swilling for the game's final run.
 
With the win, Samford improves to 29-20 on the season. Alabama A&M falls to 20-30 with the loss.
 
Samford will play at UAB Wednesday evening at 6:30 p.m. at Regions Field. 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.