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BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- The Samford University baseball team will begin play in one of its biggest three-game homestands of the 2016 season Friday at 6 p.m. (CDT) as the Bulldogs welcome the Mercer Bears to Joe Lee Griffin Field for a highly-anticipated Southern Conference series. Following Friday's game, the squads are slated to square off Saturday at 2 p.m., and then Sunday at 1 p.m.
 
ANNUAL DIAMOND DIG TO BE HELD FRIDAY
Samford will be holding its annual Diamond Dig promotion following Friday's game. All in attendance will be allowed to dig in the infield for a chance to win the grand prize courtesy of Steed's Jewelers. The first participant to find the hidden item in the infield will win the prize.
 
SETTING THE TABLE
Samford (14-11, 1-2 SoCon) enters the weekend in the midst of a mini winning streak after earning back-to-back road victories at Furman, 5-3, on Saturday and Jacksonville State, 7-6, on Tuesday. With their win at Jacksonville State, the Bulldogs moved to 5-0 against in-state opponents this season and extended their winning streak over teams from the state of Alabama to nine-consecutive games.
 

Samford's Alex Lee turned in a stellar 4-for-5 performance at the plate Tuesday and now leads the Bulldogs with a .344 batting average. Heath Quinn, Samford's talented junior right fielder from Birmingham, leads the nation with 13 home runs this season and is listed third in the country with 39 RBI.
 
Samford's starting pitcher Friday will be junior right hander Jared Brasher (2-3, 2.92 ERA). Last season, Brasher only tallied one appearance against Mercer as he struck out the lone batter that he faced in the Bulldogs' 17-7 road victory held May 16. This weekend, Samford's starters for Saturday and Sunday are both listed as TBA.
 
In four games against the Bears last season, the Bulldogs' T.J. Dixon compiled a brilliant .600 batting average. Dixon finished 12-of-20 at the plate versus Mercer, scored four runs and registered a 3-for-4 performance in stolen-base attempts.
 
SCOUTING THE COMPETITION
Mercer (16-10, 2-1 SoCon) heads into the weekend looking to bounce back from a 10-6 home setback against Georgia State on Wednesday. So far this season, the Bears boast a 13-6 record at home, but are only 3-4 when playing on the road.
 
Prior to Wednesday's loss to Georgia State, Mercer took two of three games at home versus Wofford in SoCon action before cruising past Savannah State, 16-6, in Macon, Georgia.
 
The Bears have been a streaky team this season. Mercer opened the year with a solid 7-1 record, but then dropped seven of their next nine games, including a three-game road sweep at the hands of College of Charleston.
 
Since a hard-fought 11-10 home defeat against Georgia Southern on March 15, the Bears have been victorious in seven of their last nine games.
 
Individually, Mercer's Kyle Lewis enters the series as one of the best players in the nation. Lewis, who was named the 2016 Preseason SoCon Player of the Year, is a junior outfielder and leads the conference in batting average (.450), runs (36), total bases (90), slugging percentage (.900), hits (45), walks (31), on-base percentage (.579) and RBI (40).
 
Pitching-wise, the Bears' Friday starter will be Ryan Askew (1-2, 4.38 ERA), while Kevin Coulter (3-1, 6.75 ERA) has been slotted to start in the Sunday matchup. Mercer's starter for the Saturday game is currently listed as TBA.
 

BULLDOGS' RECORD AGAINST MERCER - - THE DUNN ERA
Since Head Coach Casey Dunn took the reins to the Bulldogs' baseball program in 2004, Samford has compiled a 4-6 record against Mercer. The Bears have only been members of the SoCon for two years and defeated the Bulldogs in the championship game of the SoCon Tournament last season, 5-0.
 
In 2015, Samford played on the road at Mercer in a three-game series and finished with a 1-2 record. The Bulldogs came up short in the first two games of the series, 14-5 and 8-5, but bounced back to take the final contest of the set held in Macon, 17-7.
 
SAMFORD PICKED FIRST BY COACHES
For the first time in its eight-year membership in the SoCon, Samford was picked first in the 2016
Preseason SoCon Coaches Poll, it was officially released by the league headquarters on Feb. 11. The vote was taken of the conference's nine head coaches.
 
Samford placed first with 60 total votes, while defending champion Mercer followed closely with 59. The Bulldogs and Bears both received four first-place votes.
 
Samford finished the 2015 campaign with a 32-26 overall mark and a 14-10 record in the SoCon. The Bulldogs' second-place league finish was their best since joining the SoCon in 2009, while their tournament title-game appearance was their fourth in five seasons.
 
Samford returns all nine position starters and two starting pitchers from last year and placed a league-high seven players on the preseason all-conference teams.
 
SCORING SIX IS THE KEY
Samford owns a perfect 12-0 record this season when scoring six or more runs. Conversely, the Bulldogs are 0-8 this year when scoring three runs or fewer. Samford also boasts an unblemished 9-0 record in 2016 when scoring a run in the first inning. Additionally, Samford holds a 10-6 record this season when scoring before its opponent.
 

RARIFIED AIR - - SAMFORD BOASTS TWO OF NATION'S TOP FIVE HOME RUN HITTERS
The Bulldogs' Edens and Swilling entered the 2016 campaign as two of the top five returning home run hitters in the nation from last season. Both of Samford's sluggers powered 16 homers in 2015 as the Bulldogs led the nation in dingers for a predominant portion of the season with a school-record 85.
 
Joining Samford's Edens and Swilling in the top-five list for returning home run hitters this year were Eastern Kentucky's Kyle Nowlin (19), Florida's JJ Schwarz (18) and Mercer's Lewis (17).
 
HEATH QUINN - - THE CONSTANT STARTER
The Bulldogs' Quinn has started in all 142 games of his collegiate career. Just a junior, Samford's Preseason All-American immediately earned a spot in the team's starting lineup as a true freshman in 2014 and has been a staple in the starting nine ever since.
 
Quinn boasts top-flight totals with 13 home runs, 39 RBI and 80 total bases this season. In his three-year tenure at Samford, Quinn owns a .332 career batting average, 36 home runs, 143 RBI and 135 runs scored.
 

SAMFORD'S GREENE NAMED TO JOHNNY BENCH AWARD WATCH LIST
National accolades continued to roll in for Samford's Richard Greene on March 9, as the Bulldogs' Preseason All-SoCon honoree was named to the Watch List for the 2016 Johnny Bench Award, it was officially announced by the Greater Wichita Area Sports Commission.
 
Greene, Samford's talented senior catcher from Birmingham, boasts a .313 batting average this season. With eight doubles, Greene has already tallied 26 hits, 14 RBI, 16 runs scored, four bases on balls and a home run in 2016.
 
PLENTY OF EXPERIENCE
Samford returned all nine position starters and two starting pitchers from last year and tallied a league-high seven players on the preseason all-conference teams.
 
The Bulldogs, who have played in four of the last five SoCon Tournament title games, placed a league-high seven players on the two preseason squads, including a SoCon-best four on the first team. Samford paced the conference in preseason picks for the second straight year and were the coaches' preseason pick to win the league.
 
SAMFORD AMONG THE NATION'S ELITE
Samford entered the 2016 campaign as one of only three teams in the nation to boast three National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) Preseason All-Americans. The Bulldogs returned the efforts of Edens, Quinn and Swilling this season, joining only Louisville and Florida as the other two programs in the country with three Preseason All-America members.
 
WHAT'S COMING UP NEXT?
Following this weekend's marquee SoCon series against Mercer, the Samford University baseball team will next be in action Tuesday at 6 p.m. (CDT) as the Bulldogs travel to face Troy in a midweek non-conference contest to be held at Riddle Pace Field.
 
For quick score updates, breaking news and links to all of your favorite articles featuring the Bulldogs, please follow @SamfordBaseball and @Samford_Sports on Twitter.

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Samford Game Notes  |  Tickets