BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The Samford baseball team built an early lead and pulled away late for a 6-2 win over Alabama State Tuesday night at Joe Lee Griffin Field.
 
"I thought we pitched well and we played clean defensively," Samford head coach Casey Dunn said. "Obviously, between the first and eighth innings we had some terrible at-bats, but it was good to see us back on a few pitches there in the eighth."
 
Samford plated three runs in the first inning and held the 3-0 lead until Alabama State came back with two runs in the top of the sixth inning to cut the lead to 3-2. Samford put the game away with three more runs in the eighth inning, with two coming on solo home runs by Hunter Swilling and Heath Quinn, for the 6-2 win. With the two home runs Samford now has 55 for the season, the highest total in the nation.
 
For Samford offensively, Swilling went 2-for-4 with a double, a home run and two RBI. Quinn went 2-for-4 with a home run and two RBI. Alex Lee went 2-for-4 with a double and an RBI, while Danny Rodriguez went 2-for-4 with a double and an RBI as well.
 
Samford's Cole Limbaugh (1-1) pitched 3.0 innings, giving up no runs on one hit to earn the win on the mound for the Bulldogs. Devan Traglia, Eric Wright, Jesse Travis, Wyatt Burns, Mikel Belcher, Mark Donham and Andres Gracia also pitched in the game for Samford.
 
Alabama State was led at the plate by Waldyvan Estrada, going 3-for-4 on the night. Yamil Pagan went 2-for-3 for Alabama State, and P.J. Harris and Gustavo Rios had a hit and an RBI each.
 
Patrick Coffin (2-1) pitched a third of an inning, surrendering three runs on six hits to take the loss on the mound for Alabama State. Tyler Howe pitched 6.2 innings for Alabama State, allowing no hits, striking out 13 Samford batters and walking just one.
 
In Samford's big first inning, the Bulldogs plated three runs on six hits. T.J. Dixon led the inning off with a single to center field. Swilling then doubled to left-center field to drive in Dixon for the game's first run. Quinn then singled to center field to drive in Swilling for a 2-0 Samford lead. With one out in the inning, Lee singled up the middle to drive in Quinn to make the score 3-0.
 
Samford's pitchers held Alabama State scoreless until the top of the sixth inning, with the Hornets scoring two runs to cut the Samford lead to 3-2. With two outs in the inning, Etrada singled to center field to start the rally. Pagan then singled, moving Estrada to third base. Harris then singled to right field to drive in Estrada for ASU's first run. Rios then singled up the middle to drive in Pagan to bring Alabama State to within one run of Samford.
 
The Bulldogs pulled away with three runs in the bottom of the eighth inning. Swilling led the inning off with a home run to center field. Quinn then homered to left field for a 5-2 Samford lead. With one out in the inning, Lee doubled to left field, and Sam Teague pinch ran for Lee. Teague moved to third base on a fly out by Brandon Powell. Rodriguez then doubled to center field to drive in Teague to make the final score 6-2.
 
The win is the eighth-straight for Samford. The Bulldogs improve to 22-17, while Alabama State falls to 27-12. The loss snaps a 12-game win streak for the Hornets.
 
Samford will return to action on Friday, when the Bulldogs open a three-game Southern Conference series at Wofford. The teams are scheduled to play Friday at 5 p.m. (CST), Saturday at 2 p.m. and Sunday at 12 p.m.