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GREENVILLE, S.C. -- After the third inning Thursday, the Samford University baseball team couldn't find an answer offensively for Furman's starting pitcher Will Gaddis, who closed out his eight-inning outing with 17-consecutive putouts and nine strikeouts, as the Bulldogs dropped a 4-2 decision in their Southern Conference opener held at Latham Stadium.
 
"I thought Gaddis really pitched well after the first couple of innings and that he used his fast ball more, which helped him out," said Samford head coach Casey Dunn. "This was another game when all of our runs came in one inning off of a home run.
 
"We hit the ball better, but the difference in the game was that our best swings were to center field into the monsoon wind, while theirs were to left field. We swung the bats better than five hits, but eventually we have to be able to score runs without hitting home runs."
 
With the loss, Samford (12-10, 0-1 SoCon) dropped to 3-5 in road games this season and moved to 18-7 against Furman (9-12, 1-0 SoCon) since joining the SoCon in 2009.
 
The Paladins have recorded all nine of their victories at home this year and improved to 9-4 when playing in the friendly confines of Latham Stadium.
 
Gaddis (3-2), Furman's sophomore Second-Team All-SoCon preseason honoree, opened his conference schedule in striking fashion by pitching eight innings of two-run baseball. The Paladins' ace tallied nine strikeouts and only allowed five hits in the contest.
 
"Striking out 10 times tonight was a complete embarrassment for us," Dunn said. "Another thing is that we only had two walks in the entire game. We can't have that. We have to do a better job with two strikes. I thought that Jared (Brasher) threw the ball fine. We were still one pitch away from a zero in the third and I'd like to think that if we get out of that inning with a zero, then Jared goes at least five or six innings tonight and who knows, maybe we win the ballgame."
 
Samford jumped out to an early 2-0 lead in the top of the third inning when junior T.J. Dixon drew a leadoff walk. He later scored when the Bulldogs' Hunter Swilling powered his fifth home run of the season over the wall in left-center field.
 
Swilling, Samford's talented junior third baseman from Columbus, Georgia, is now batting .315 on the year and has driven in 24 runs.
 
Two batters after Swilling's homer, the Bulldogs' Alex Lee doubled off the wall in left field, but was stranded at second base to end the inning.
 
Lee's double proved to be Samford's final base hit of the game. The Bulldogs' only other baserunner in the contest would be Lee, who earned a walk to lead off the ninth inning.
 
Furman tied the score at 2-2 in the bottom of the third inning as third baseman Jordan Simpson singled to left field with the bases loaded. Simpson tallied a 2-for-3 outing on the day, while Cameron Whitehead also registered a similar multi-hit performance at 2-for-3.
 
The Paladins' Whitehead, in his first game back in action following a concussion, drove in the game-winning run in the bottom of the fifth inning with a solo shot over the wall in left field.
 
Furman's fourth-and-final run of the game also came on a solo home run as Landon Kay sent one to nearly the exact same spot as Whitehead's in the previous inning.
 
Samford's Jared Brasher started Thursday and was removed in the fifth inning for a no decision when the game was knotted at 2-2. Jake Greer (1-1) proved to be the pitcher of record in Bulldogs' loss. Samford's sophomore right hander was on the mound for Whitehead's round-tripper.
 
Josh Rich and Wyatt Burns also come on to pitch for Samford. Rich allowed an earned run in 2.2 innings of action, while Burns shut the door on the Paladins in the eighth inning with a pair of key outs.
 
On Thursday, the Bulldogs' Heath Quinn, Jared Watson, Richard Greene, Swilling and Lee all registered base hits, but nobody on the roster finished with a multi-hit outing.
 
This weekend's SoCon-opening series at Furman will resume Friday at 3 p.m. (CDT) with the second matchup of the three-game set being held at Latham Baseball Stadium.
 
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