Box Score
Updated StatsBIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- On Friday, the Samford University baseball team rattled off 14 hits, but only scored three runs as the Bulldogs left a season-high 15 runners on base in a 4-3, 10-inning setback against the Wofford Terriers in Southern Conference action held at Joe Lee Griffin Field.
"I thought our guys pitched well tonight and we got plenty of hits, we just didn't get them at the right time," said Samford head coach
Casey Dunn. "We left base-runners on in literally nine of the 10 innings and multiple base-runners in a majority of those, so we just needed those timely hits, but didn't get them. We did hit a lot of balls hard, but they seemed to be right at them."
Samford (16-14, 3-4 SoCon) tied the score of the game at 3-3 in the bottom of the seventh inning as junior
Heath Quinn doubled home
Hunter Swilling from first base and then senior
Alex Lee blasted a long home run over the fence in right field for the equalizer. Quinn's RBI proved to be his team-leading 44
th of the season, while Lee's fourth homer of the year upped his total to 17.
Quinn paced the Bulldogs' offense Friday with a 3-for-6 outing at the plate, while Swilling, Lee,
Jared Watson and
Danny Rodriguez all tallied two hits apiece. Samford's
T.J. Dixon,
Richard Greene and
Frankie Navarrete all finished with one base hit each.
In the top of the 10
th inning, Wofford's Derek Hirsch led off the frame with a looping single to right-center field. He was then bunted over to second base on a sacrifice from McClain Bradley. Samford's
Josh Rich, who was inserted to pitch in the beginning of the inning, then forced the Terriers' first baseman Brett Hash to ground out to third base.
With two outs and Hirsch at second base, Wofford's Carson Waln connected on an 0-1 offering from Rich and sent a double off the wall in left field. Hirsch scored on the play in what would end up being the game-winning run of the evening.
Waln finished 1-for-5 at the dish Friday, but made his lone hit of the game count.
Hirsch proved to be the only Terrier with a multi-hit performance as Samford outhit
Wofford (17-15, 2-5 SoCon), 14-7. The Bulldogs left 15 runners on base, while the Terriers only left eight stranded.
Samford's Rich moved to 1-2 with Friday's tough one-inning loss. Conversely, Wofford's Will Stillman (2-1) came on in relief in the eighth inning and earned the victory by striking out four Bulldogs in the final three stanzas.
Friday's series opener displayed 25 total strikeouts. Samford's pitching staff registered 14 Ks, while the Terriers tallied 11. Wofford's Matthew Milton started the game and earned seven strikeouts in seven innings on the hill. He allowed 11 hits, but only surrendered three earned runs.
The Bulldogs'
Jared Brasher started on the mound and overcame an early hiccup in the first inning to strike out five Terriers in five full innings of action. Samford's native of Pell City, allowed three earned runs on just four hits.
"Jared got us five innings tonight," said Dunn. "He got us five innings and he got us five innings where he left us with a good chance to win the ballgame. He needs to throw more strikes. There were times when he walked guys with four straight pitches and you just can't do that, especially in this part of the season. He gave us five innings and only allowed three runs and if we only give up four runs in a ballgame, then we need to win it."
Wofford scored an early run in the first inning and then added two more in the fifth frame to garner a 3-0 lead. Samford evened the score at 3-3 in the bottom of the seventh inning. So far this season, the Bulldogs have outscored their opponents by a lopsided total of 31-15 in the seventh stanza.
"We gave them a couple of opportunities early in the game and they capitalized," Dunn said. "On the other hand, we weren't able to capitalize on any of their early miscues."
This weekend's three-game SoCon set will resume Saturday at 2 p.m. (CDT) as Samford and Wofford will square off in the second matchup of the series being held at Joe Lee Griffin Field.
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Box Score
Updated Stats
