Game One (Friday, April 29 -- 5 p.m. CDT):  Video  |  Radio  |  Live Stats
Game Two (Saturday, April 30 -- Noon CDT):  Radio  |  Live Stats
Game Three (Saturday, April 30 -- 3 p.m. CDT):  Radio  |  Live Stats

Samford Game Notes  |  Admission is FREE

GREENSBORO, N.C. -- The Samford University baseball team will begin play in one of its biggest road series of the 2016 campaign Friday at 5 p.m. (CDT) as the Bulldogs square off against the first-place UNCG Spartans in a three-game weekend Southern Conference set to be held at the UNCG Baseball Stadium.
 
Samford (24-18, 6-6 SoCon) enters the matchup with a full head of steam after tallying a thrilling 3-2 walk-off victory at home against in-state rival Alabama on Tuesday. In the Bulldogs' triumph, freshman Ben Carrick powered a game-winning, two-run homer over the wall in left field with one out in the bottom of the ninth inning.
 
Samford's win snapped a nine-game losing streak against the Crimson Tide as the Bulldogs improved to 8-2 versus in-state opponents this season.
 
Since April 9, Samford has tallied an 8-4 record, including a 5-2 mark against non-conference opponents. The Bulldogs haven't faced a league rival since April 17 when they nearly won a critical three-game series at second-place Western Carolina. Last weekend proved to be Samford's bye week in SoCon play, so the Bulldogs hosted Kansas in a three-game set and won two out of three at Joe Lee Griffin Field.
 
Samford owns a 6-9 record on the road this season and has only competed in four games away from home in its last 17 outings. The Bulldogs will close out its 2016 regular-season schedule with eight road games and six home games.
 
SCOUTING THE COMPETITION
UNCG (32-11, 10-2 SoCon) enters the weekend as the first-place team in the conference. The Spartans are in the midst of a six-game league winning streak and haven't been defeated by a SoCon opponent since April 15 when Furman tallied a 9-7 home victory in Greenville, South Carolina.
 
Last weekend, UNCG cruised to a three-game home sweep of ETSU as the Spartans outscored the Buccaneers, 28-18. Already this year, UNCG boasts a near-perfect 23-1 record when competing at the UNCG Baseball Stadium.
 
On Tuesday, the Spartans played host to Campbell in a midweek matchup and rolled their way to a 10-2 victory. With its triumph, UNCG head coach Link Jarrett registered the 100th win of his Spartan career.
 
UNCG heads into the weekend as an offensive juggernaut. The Spartans lead the SoCon in 13 of the league's 18 major offensive statistical categories. Additionally, UNCG is ranked first in the nation in the following nine listings: batting average (.363), doubles (120), doubles per game (2.83), hits (568), on-base percentage (.442), runs (403), sacrifice flies (32), scoring (9.4 rpg) and slugging percentage (.552).
 
Individually, the Spartans' Ben Spitznagel is ranked first in the nation in hits (75), while Collin Woody is sixth (69) and Andrew Moritz holds the 10th spot with 66. Woody is also ranked second in the nation with 57 RBI this season, as L.J. Kalawaia is third in the country with 52 runs scored.
 
BULLDOGS' RECORD AGAINST UNCG - - THE DUNN ERA
Since Head Coach Casey Dunn took the reins to the Bulldogs' baseball program in 2004, Samford has compiled a solid 14-7 record against UNCG. Last year, the teams played a three-game series held in Birmingham, Alabama, and the Bulldogs won two of the three outings.
 
In the series opener, Samford tallied a 7-4 victory in the matchup before getting shutout, 5-0, in the second game of the SoCon set. In the rubber game held at Joe Lee Griffin Field, the Bulldogs were able to earn a key 14-7 home triumph against the Spartans.
 
SAMFORD'S LEE NAMED LOUISVILLE SLUGGER NATIONAL PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Samford first baseman Alex Lee continued to garner high-profile accolades Monday as the Bulldogs' senior cleanup hitter was named a Louisville Slugger National Player of the Week, it was officially announced by the organization's headquarters.
 
Lee hit .500, slugged 1.000 and had an on-base percentage of .565 as the Bulldogs split a midweek doubleheader with Alabama A&M before taking two of three from Kansas over the weekend. Lee hit three home runs, scored seven runs and drove in 10 on the week. He had multiple hits in four of his five contests.
 
Lee was joined by five other student-athletes Monday as Louisville Slugger National Players of the Week. They were the following:  Gene Cone (South Carolina), Logan Gray (Austin Peay), Aaron Leasher (Morehead State), Quincy Nieporte (Florida State), Cody Sedlock (Illinois) and Wayne Wages (Georgia State).
 
Samford's Lee proved to be the second Bulldog to earn Louisville Slugger National Player of the Week honors this season. On Feb. 22, Samford right-fielder Heath Quinn received the honor for his performance in the Bulldogs' four-game sweep of Butler.
 
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 Austin Edens, Heath Quinn and Hunter Swilling this season, joining only Louisville and Florida as the other two programs in the country with three Preseason All-America members.
 
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 returned all nine position starters and two starting pitchers from last year and placed a league-high seven players on the preseason all-conference teams.
 
HEATH QUINN - - THE CONSTANT STARTER
The Bulldogs' Quinn has started in all 159 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 120 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.
 
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 Kyle Lewis (17).
 
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 .292 batting average this season. With 10 doubles, Greene has already tallied 40 hits, 26 RBI, 21 runs scored, seven bases on balls and four home runs in 2016.
 
JUST WALK IT OFF
Twice in the last week, Samford has tallied a pair of walk-off victories in thrilling home wins against Kansas and Alabama. On April 22, the Bulldogs' Frankie Navarrete powered a double off the wall in center field to score Danny Rodriguez and defeat Kansas, 3-2.
 
Then, on Tuesday, Samford earned a similar 3-2 triumph as Carrick sent a one-out, two-run walk-off homer over the wall in left field to defeat Alabama.
 
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 5-18 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 16-9 record this season when scoring before its opponent.
 
WHAT'S COMING UP NEXT?
Following this weekend's pivotal three-game SoCon series at UNCG, the Samford University baseball team will next be in action May 6 at 6 p.m. (CDT) as the Bulldogs begin a critical conference home series against the ETSU Buccaneers. Next weekend's three-game set will be held at Samford's Joe Lee Griffin Field in Birmingham.
 
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.

Game One (Friday, April 29 -- 5 p.m. CDT):  Video  |  Radio  |  Live Stats
Game Two (Saturday, April 30 -- 1 p.m. CDT):  Radio  |  Live Stats
Game Three (Sunday, May 1 -- Noon CDT):  Radio  |  Live Stats

Samford Game Notes  |  Admission is FREE