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BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- The Samford University baseball team will conclude play in its six-game, non-conference homestand Tuesday at 6 p.m. (CDT) as the Bulldogs welcome the Alabama Crimson Tide to Joe Lee Griffin Field for a highly-anticipated in-state matchup.
 
Samford (23-18) heads into the contest with a bit of positive momentum after winning two out of three games against Kansas over the weekend. On Saturday, the Bulldogs played to a doubleheader sweep of the Jayhawks, 3-2 (10) and 13-9, before dropping Sunday's series finale, 9-5.
 
With its play over the weekend, Samford improved to 17-9 at home this season and to 3-3 all-time against opponents from the Big 12. In 2012, the Bulldogs played a three-game series at No. 24-ranked Oklahoma and finished the set with a 1-2 mark.
 

In five games last week, Samford turned in a brilliant .325 batting average and tallied a 3-2 record. The Bulldogs' Alex Lee finished with a .500 (9-of-18) average last week, while Austin Edens went .444 (8-of-18) at the dish and Hunter Swilling registered a .389 (7-of-18) performance.
 
Samford outscored its opponents 44-33 last week and added 14 more hits (53-39) in five games, including a 43-28 advantage in RBI.
 
SCOUTING THE COMPETITION
Alabama (24-17) heads into Tuesday's matchup having been triumphant in six of its last 10 games, including four wins against top-15-ranked opponents. On April 10, the Crimson Tide tallied a 2-1 road victory at No. 13 Kentucky, before taking two out of three at home against No. 8-ranked Ole Miss on April 15-17.
 
Last week, Alabama split a pair of home midweek in-state matchups with Troy (W, 5-3) and South Alabama (L, 8-2). The Crimson Tide then traveled to College Station, Texas, for a three-game Southeastern Conference road series against the No. 3-ranked Texas A&M Aggies.
 
Alabama suffered a pair of hard-fought, one-run losses on Friday (4-3) and Sunday (2-1), but pulled away for a 7-4 triumph in Saturday's game-two matchup.
 
Already this season, the Crimson Tide has earned seven victories against nationally-ranked opponents and owns a 15-6 record at home. Conversely, Alabama is only 6-9 when playing away from Tuscaloosa this year.
 
Offensively, the Crimson Tide is being led by senior third baseman Chance Vincent, who owns a team-high .309 batting average. Vincent, a native of Scott, Louisiana, also leads the team in both hits (46) and RBI (25) this season.
 
Alabama's starting pitcher Tuesday will be freshman right-hander Brock Love (0-0). Love, who hails from Rainbow City, has started a pair of games this season and owns a 3.27 earned-run average. In 22 innings pitched, Love has already notched 25 strikeouts in 2016.
 

BULLDOGS' RECORD AGAINST ALABAMA - - THE DUNN ERA
Since Head Coach Casey Dunn took the reins to the Bulldogs' baseball program in 2004, Samford has compiled a 6-14 record against Alabama. The Crimson Tide has been victorious in nine straight meetings between the teams dating back to April 5, 2011, when the Bulldogs earned a 4-2 road victory held in Tuscaloosa.
 
Last season, the teams played their typical home-and-home series and Alabama notched wins of 8-6 and 12-1. The 8-6 contest occurred in Tuscaloosa, while the 12-1 matchup was held at Samford's Joe Lee Griffin Field in Birmingham.
 
SAMFORD AGAINST IN-STATE OPPONENTS
The Bulldogs boast a 7-2 record against in-state opponents this season and have been victorious in 11 of their last 13 outings versus teams from the state of Alabama.
 
Last season, Samford closed out the campaign with consecutive victories against in-state opponents Troy, 13-2, Alabama State, 6-2, UAB, 4-2, and Jacksonville State, 14-13.
 
Already this year, the Bulldogs have defeated UAB, 13-2, Troy, 20-6, Alabama A&M, 18-6, Alabama State twice, 18-7 and 13-3, and Jacksonville State twice, 10-7 and 7-6, but suffered losses at Troy on April. 5 and against Alabama A&M on April 19. In total, Samford has outscored its in-state foes by a count of 107-49 this season and has tallied an average of 11.9 runs per matchup.
 
WINNING BIG HAS BEEN THE TREND
The Bulldogs have outscored their opponents by a total of 307-210 this season, for a stellar run differential of 97. In its 23 wins over the course of the 2016 campaign, Samford is averaging a boastful 6.7-run margin of victory. Conversely, in the Bulldogs' 18 losses this season, the opposition's margin of victory has only been 3.2 runs.
 
BULLDOGS IN THE NATIONAL RANKINGS
Category, Rank (Value)
Home Runs, #2 (56)
Home Runs Per Game, #3 (1.37)
Hits, #12 (447)
Slugging Percentage, #12 (.486)
Runs, #21 (307)
Batting Average, #23 (.308)
Scoring, #26 (7.5 rpg)
On Base Percentage, #26 (.398)
Walks, #43 (181)
 
IT'S TIME TO PULL AWAY
In the sixth, seventh and eighth innings this season, Samford is outscoring its opponents by a jaw-dropping total of 122-60. So far this year, the Bulldogs have already scored a total of 307 runs, while well over a third of those runs were tallied in the sixth, seventh and eighth innings. More specifically, Samford is outscoring the opposition, 48-26, in the sixth stanza, 40-17 in the seventh and 34-17 in the eighth inning.
 

BULLDOGS' HEATH QUINN IN THE NATIONAL RANKINGS
Category, Rank (Value)
Home Runs, #1 (17)
Runs Batted In, #2 (57)
Runs Batted In Per Game, #2 (1.39)
Home Runs Per Game, #3 (0.41)
Total Bases, #3 (119)
Slugging Percentage, #10 (.730)
Runs, #15 (46)
Runs Per Game, #27 (1.12)
 
LET'S HAVE SOME FUN - - QUINN'S PROJECTED NUMBERS THIS SEASON
Currently, Samford's Quinn owns 17 home runs, 46 runs scored, 57 RBI and 119 total bases this year. Last season, the Bulldogs' right fielder finished the 2015 campaign with 238 official at-bats.
 
If Quinn earns an equal amount of 238 at-bats this year, Samford's preseason All-American is on pace to achieve 25 home runs, 67 runs scored, 83 RBI and 174 total bases. To put that in perspective, last season's American League MVP Josh Donaldson accumulated 41 home runs and 123 RBI in a total of 620 at-bats, which is nearly three times as many as Quinn will receive in 2016.
 
NATION'S HOME RUN LEADERS
Rank, Player,  HR
1. Heath Quinn, Samford, 17
2. Jake Burger, Missouri State, 16
3. Nick Feight, UNCW, 15
     Kyle Lewis, Mercer, 15
     Kyle Nowlin, Eastern Kentucky, 15
6. Austin Edens, Samford, 14
     Seth Beer, Clemson, 14
     Darick Hall, Dallas Baptist, 14
9.  Will Craig, Wake Forest, 13
     Austin Hays, Jacksonville, 13
     Tanner Hill, Texas State, 13
     Spencer Johnson, Missouri State, 13
     Reid Russell, Lamer, 13
     Gary Russo, Miami (Ohio), 13
 
HEATH QUINN - - THE CONSTANT STARTER
The Bulldogs' Quinn has started in all 158 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 17 home runs, 57 RBI and 119 total bases this season. In his three-year tenure at Samford, Quinn owns a .333 career batting average, 40 home runs, 161 RBI and 152 runs scored.
 

SAMFORD'S RODRIGUEZ NAMED TO BROOKS WALLACE AWARD WATCH LIST
Samford's Danny Rodriguez proved to be among the best shortstops in the nation Friday as the Bulldogs' senior from Miami, Florida, earned a spot on the initial 2016 watch list for the Brooks Wallace Shortstop of the Year Award.
 
The award, sponsored by Mizuno, honors the nation's top shortstop and will be presented as part of the annual Night of Champions celebration on July 2 in Lubbock, Texas. Samford's Rodriguez currently boasts a .292 batting average on the year and has already scored 30 runs. He has started at shortstop in 40 of the Bulldogs' 41 games this season and has only committed three errors in 174 total chances.
 
Last year, he finished the 2015 campaign with a .289 average, 55 hits, 30 runs scored and 30 RBI. Rodriguez has played a key role in both Samford's offense and defense this season. With a stellar .983 fielding percentage, he has helped lock down the middle of the Bulldogs defense, while also batting seventh in their potent offense with 40 hits, 12 RBI and five doubles.
 
HUNTER SWILLING IN THE NATIONAL RANKINGS
Category, Rank (Value)
Doubles, #11 (17)
Doubles Per Game, #25 (0.41)
Runs, #32 (43)
Runs Batted In, #41 (43)
Total Bases, #42 (96)
Runs Per Game, #59 (1.05)
Runs Batted In Per Game, #62 (1.05)
Home Runs, #97 (8)
 
GOING UP . . . ON A TUESDAY
Samford owns a 7-2 record when playing on Tuesday this season. All of the Bulldogs' midweek games have been played on Tuesdays and have all come against in-state opponents.
 
So far this season, Samford has defeated UAB, 13-2, Troy, 20-6, Alabama A&M, 18-6, Alabama State twice, 18-7 and 13-3, and Jacksonville State twice, 10-7 and 7-6, but dropped a 5-3 road decision at Troy on April 5 and a 7-5 home defeat against Alabama A&M on April 19. The Bulldogs are outscoring their opponents by a total of 107-49 when playing on Tuesday this season.
 
SCORING SIX IS THE KEY
Samford owns a perfect 19-0 record this season when scoring six or more runs. Conversely, the Bulldogs are just 4-18 this year when scoring five runs or fewer. Samford also boasts a 13-3 record in 2016 when scoring a run in the first inning. Additionally, Samford holds a 15-9 record this season when scoring before its opponent.
 
WHAT'S COMING UP NEXT?
Following Tuesday's home showdown with Alabama, the Samford University baseball team will next be in action Friday at 5 p.m. (CDT) as the Bulldogs travel to Greensboro, North Carolina, for a high-profile, three-game weekend SoCon series against the first-place UNCG Spartans.
 
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