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BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- Trailing 5-2 in the bottom of the eighth inning Friday, things looked bleak for the Samford baseball team, but then the Bulldogs sent 14 hitters to the plate, scored nine runs on seven hits and garnered a demonstrative 11-5 advantage over the Mercer Bears in a momentous Southern Conference series-opening victory held at Joe Lee Griffin Field.
 
In the eighth inning alone, Samford's Richard Greene tallied five RBI and blasted the first of back-to-back home runs in the frame that totally shifted the momentum of the contest.
 
Greene, the Bulldogs' talented senior catcher and graduate of Oak Mountain High School, finished 2-for-5 in the game with five RBI and a run scored. He notched a three-run homer and a two-run single in the eighth inning. Samford's Frankie Navarrete, who powered his second home run of the season on the immediate pitch after Greene's dinger, turned in a stellar 3-for-5 outing with three runs and an RBI.
 
"Those were two huge swings by Richard and Frankie there," said Samford head coach Casey Dunn. "Lost in the shuffle, was also a great two-run single from Austin (Edens) that he didn't hit his best, but he got it in play. Those are the little things that we need to do as a club to have these big innings. Obviously, the home runs are great and I hope we can get a bunch of them, but you also need some timely hits and for guys to take some walks as well."
 
With the thrilling come-from-behind victory, Samford (15-11, 2-2 SoCon) extended its winning streak to three and improved to 10-5 when playing at home this season.
 
Friday's matchup featured the top two teams in the 2016 SoCon preseason rankings and the Bulldogs finished the heated contest with 15 hits, seven of which were tallied in the eighth inning.
 
Samford's Alex Lee opened the frame by drawing a walk and later scored on Greene's three-run bomb. Lee also singled to center field to drive in a run of his own during his second at-bat of the inning. The Bulldogs' preseason All-SoCon first baseman turned in a 2-for-4 performance at the dish Friday.
 
Sophomore Rob Perteet walked and scored a run in the eighth inning, while Danny Rodriguez reached base in four of his five at-bats in the game and posted a double and a walk in Samford's big frame.
 
Junior T.J. Dixon and sophomore Austin Edens both singled and scored in the eighth. Dixon registered a 3-for-4 performance at the leadoff position, while Edens drove in a run and crossed the plate once. Junior Heath Quinn walked and scored in the inning. He also singled to left field and drove in the Bulldogs' first two runs of the night.
 
Samford's Tanner Cunningham (1-0) earned the victory in relief Friday. The Bulldogs' junior right hander pitched his way out of a mini jam in the top of the eighth inning that helped set up Samford's rally in the bottom half of the frame.
 
"I thought Tanner did a really good job of getting out of the eighth inning with a zero to keep it a three-run game," Dunn said. "All in all, our pitchers did a solid job tonight and I think it was definitely a step in the right direction for them."
 
Mercer (16-11, 2-2 SoCon) jumped out to an early 2-0 advantage in the third inning and later led 3-1 following an RBI single from junior center fielder Kyle Lewis in the fifth. Lewis, the Preseason SoCon Player of the Year, finished Friday's contest 1-for-3 at the plate with two RBI.
 
Just two innings later, with the Bears leading 3-2 in the top of the seventh, Mercer's Trey Truitt connected on a two-run homer to left field to give his squad a 5-2 lead. Following his seventh home run of the season, the Bears' sophomore from Dothan, strutted and shimmied his way around the base paths.
 
Samford's bats then woke up in the next inning as the Bulldogs' exploded their way to an 11-5 series-opening victory.
 
"What a great finish for our guys tonight," said Dunn. "I thought we handled our composure really well. They hit the big home run there in the seventh inning and kind of had a little bit of extra theatrics to it, and sometimes you just need a little something to get you fired up. I thought our guys did a great job of answering and this was a good win for us."
 
This weekend's three-game set will resume Saturday at 2 p.m. (CDT) as the Bulldogs and Bears square off in the second matchup of the SoCon series being held at Joe Lee Griffin Field on the campus of Samford University.
 
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