BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The Samford baseball team dropped a 12-1 decision to Alabama Tuesday night at Joe Lee Griffin Field.
"Their two guys (Jake Walters and Nick Eicholtz) were really good tonight," Samford head coach
Casey Dunn said. "That's two good young arms they have. They were good and we weren't, and that's a bad combination."
Samford's lone run in the game came on a solo home run by
Parker Curry in the bottom of the seventh inning. Curry,
Richard Greene and
Damon Waller had one hit each tonight for the Bulldogs.
Samford starting pitcher
Eric Wright (2-3) pitched an inning and gave up four runs, just one earned, on three hits to take the loss on the mound for Samford.
Tristan Widra,
Devan Traglia,
Wyatt Burns,
Cole Limbaugh,
Jesse Travis and
Caleb Maggio also saw time on the mound for Samford.
Alabama starting pitcher Jake Walters (3-1) pitched 5.0 inning, giving up no runs on one hit to earn the win on the mound for the Crimson Tide. Nick Eicholtz tossed the final 4.0 innings, allowing one run on two hits to pick up his first save of the season.
Offensively for Alabama, Georgie Salem went 2-for-4 with two home runs and two RBI. Chandler Avant, Casey Hughston and Cody Henry had three hits each for Alabama. Salem, Kyle Overstreet and Chance Vincent collected two hits each for the Crimson Tide. As a team, Alabama pounded out 18 hits in the game.
Alabama built a big lead early, scoring four runs in the first inning, one run in the second inning and two runs in the third inning. The Crimson Tide added to its lead with a run in each of the fourth and fifth innings to take a 9-0 advantage after five innings.
Alabama pushed its lead to 11-0 with two runs in the top of the seventh inning. In the bottom of the seventh, Curry hit his home run, the first of his Samford career, with two outs in the inning to make the score 11-1. Alabama added one final run in the top of the ninth inning to make the final score 12-1.
With the loss, Samford falls to 14-17 on the season. Alabama improves to 16-15 with the win.
Samford will return to action on Friday when the Bulldogs open a three-game home non-conference series with Murray State. The teams are scheduled to play Friday at 6 p.m., Saturday at 2 p.m. and Sunday at 1 p.m. at Joe Lee Griffin Field.
