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MONTGOMERY, Ala. -- The Samford University baseball team remained undefeated against in-state opponents this season Tuesday as the Bulldogs reeled off 15 hits en route to an 18-7 road victory over the Alabama State Hornets in a key non-conference matchup held at the ASU's Wheeler-Watkins Baseball Complex.
 
"This was a good win for us tonight," said Samford head coach Casey Dunn. "We had a lot of good performances from our younger players. I thought Rob Perteet had a couple of good at-bats and he made some nice adjustments late in the game. Troy (Dixon) handled himself very well today. He made a couple of really nice plays in the field and put together some solid at-bats."
 
With Tuesday's 11-run victory, Samford (10-7) improved to 3-0 against in-state opponents this season. Already this year, the Bulldogs have defeated UAB, Troy and Alabama State (10-8), all by at least 11 runs or more.
 
On March 1, Samford defeated UAB, 13-2 (7), before dropping Troy on March 8, 20-6. So far this season, the Bulldogs are outscoring their in-state opponents by a total of 51-15.
 
Heading into the top of the sixth inning Tuesday, Samford trailed Alabama State, 5-4. The Bulldogs went on to tally four unearned runs during a two-out rally that broke the game open and allowed Samford to cruise to its midweek triumph.
 
With two outs, the Bulldogs' Danny Rodriguez reached base on a throwing error by Alabama State's shortstop Oscar Prioleau. Senior catcher Richard Greene then singled to right field and Samford loaded the basis when Troy Dixon was hit by a pitch. Next up, the Bulldogs' T.J. Dixon battled his way to a clutch, nine-pitch walk to score Rodriguez from third base and tie the score at 5-5.
 
Samford's Hunter Swilling then made Alabama State pay as he rifled a base-clearing double into left-center field to give the Bulldogs an 8-5 advantage on the road. Swilling reached third base on the play, but was only attributed with a double and two RBI after the Hornets' center fielder Carlos Ocasio committed a fielding error.
 
Upon taking the lead in the sixth inning, Samford never looked back in Tuesday's victory. The Bulldogs' Austin Edens powered a huge, 450-foot grand slam in the top of the eighth inning, and then Samford tacked on six more scores in the ninth.
 
Edens and T.J. Dixon both posted 3-for-4 performances at the plate Tuesday. Edens scored two runs and drove in four against Alabama State, while Dixon crossed the dish three times and also drove in four runs.
 
The Bulldogs finished with four players tallying multiple-hit outings versus the Hornets. Edens and Dixon led the way with three base hits apiece, while Rob Perteet and Richard Greene both notched two-hit performances at the plate. Perteet added two runs and a pair of RBI. Greene, Samford's senior native of Birmingham, tallied two scores and improved his batting average on the season to .312.
 
Also tallying hits for the Bulldogs on Tuesday were Swilling, Alex Lee, Rodriguez, Troy Dixon and Frankie Navarrete.
 
Samford sent seven arms to the mound against Alabama State and Cody Shelton (1-0) proved to be the pitcher of record in the victory. Shelton came on in the fourth inning and only allowed one run on three hits, while facing six batters.
 
Late in the game, the Bulldogs' Josh Rich, Jake Greer and Jared Brasher all turned in solid performances to close the door on the Hornets.
 
"It was good to see our relievers come in and give us some nice innings," said Dunn. "It was good to see that as well as to see Jared Brasher come in and throw the ball well in the ninth inning."
 
Samford extended its winning streak against Alabama State to three and only committed one error Tuesday.
 
"We're excited to get back home and we're glad to get this road swing over with," Dunn said. "Jacksonville is a good team and they are going to be a big challenge for us at home this weekend."
 
The Samford University baseball team will next be in action Friday at 6 p.m. (CDT) as the Bulldogs return home to Birmingham to begin a three-game series against the Jacksonville Dolphins. The weekend matchup will be held at Samford's Joe Lee Griffin Field, with games slated to start at 2 p.m., Saturday and 1 p.m., on Sunday.
 
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