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BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- The Samford University baseball team only allowed one unearned run on three hits Tuesday as the Bulldogs' pitching staff stymied the UAB Blazers en route to a 3-1 crosstown rivalry win held at Young Memorial Field.
 
"I thought our guys really threw the ball well tonight," said Samford head coach Casey Dunn. "This was a big win for us on a tough night. Our guys are in the middle of exam week and a lot of them have 8 a.m., tests tomorrow, so they're already on their way back to campus to continue studying for rest of the week. This win will help us gain some momentum and help our guys get some more bounce back in their step as we head to The Citadel this weekend."
 
With the win, Samford (27-22) improved to 9-2 against in-state opponents this season and finished the year with a three-game winning streak over UAB (19-29). Last year, the Bulldogs defeated the Blazers, 4-2, and then tallied victories of 13-2 and 3-1 this season.
 
Under Dunn, Samford boasts a dominant 16-7 record versus its crosstown foe. UAB suffered its fifth-consecutive loss Tuesday, while the Bulldogs snapped a rare three-game losing streak.
 
Samford will next be in action Friday at 5 p.m. (CDT) as the Bulldogs begin a critical three-game road Southern Conference series against The Citadel.
 
In Tuesday's win at UAB, Samford sent seven pitchers to the mound and only allowed one unearned run on three hits. The Bulldogs combined for four strikeouts as true freshman Connor Radcliff (3-3) garnered the start and collected the victory. Radcliff spent the most time on the hill of any Samford hurler as he only allowed one hit in 2.1 innings.
 

Following Radcliff's outing, Samford sent Jake Greer, Tristan Widra, Caleb Maggio, Tanner Cunningham, Jack Rude and Wyatt Burns to the mound to protect an early 1-0 lead.
 
"I thought Caleb Maggio did some good things in his inning and Connor battled through UAB's lineup one whole time, which was a quality start to the game for us," Dunn said. "The rest of the guys threw strikes and threw the ball over the plate. Tristan had a rough start to his outing, but was able to get out of it and battled through it, so not everybody was perfect, but all of our guys competed and finished their innings."
 
Burns, who leads the Bulldogs with 30 appearances this season, came on in the eighth inning and worked his way out of a huge jam to maintain Samford's 3-1 advantage. Burns entered the frame with two runners in scoring position and one out, and was able to force UAB into a quick pop-out, as well as an inning-ending strikeout.
 
Burns also closed the door on the Blazers in the ninth inning, while picking up his team-leading fourth save of the season.
 
"The story for the night going forward for us was Wyatt Burns," said Dunn. "Last weekend, he was shook, like he should be, but I thought he did a great job of gaining success and getting his confidence back. That's going to be a good thing for our team as we head down the stretch this season."
 
Samford scored its first run of the game in the top of the second inning as Austin Edens powered his 16^th home run of the season deep over the wall in right-center field. Edens entered the game as the No. 11-ranked home run hitter in the nation. With Tuesday's bomb, he moved into a tie for fifth place in the country.
 

The Bulldogs tacked on to their lead in the top of the fifth inning as senior Frankie Navarrete singled home sophomore Grant Colton from second base on a looping shot to right field. With two outs, Colton started the rally by shooting a deep double off the wall in right-center field.
 
Two innings later, Colton singlehandedly increased Samford's lead to 3-1 as he blasted his second home run of the season over the wall in right field.
 
Colton paced the Bulldogs Tuesday with a 2-for-4 outing at the plate, while T.J. Dixon and Alex Lee also added base hits.
 
"Grant had two really big swings for us tonight," said Dunn. "Obviously, he had a good game and Frankie also had a big two-out hit for us, as well as Austin's big home run early in the game. There were some positives in there for us, but we didn't have our best outing offensively or in the field."
 
UAB's lone run of the game occurred in the bottom of the fifth inning as the Blazers took advantage of two Samford errors in the frame. The Bulldogs finished the game with three miscues.
 
Adam Lamar (3-4) was issued the loss.
 
The Samford University baseball team will next be in action Friday at 5 p.m. (CDT) as the Bulldogs begin a key three-game road SoCon series at The Citadel. Following Friday's opener, the teams are slated to square off Saturday at 1 p.m., and Sunday at noon at The Citadel's Joseph P. Riley, Jr. Park in Charleston, South Carolina.
 
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