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CHARLESTON, S.C. -- The Samford University baseball team extended its winning streak to four-consecutive games Sunday as the Bulldogs completed their Southern Conference weekend sweep of The Citadel with a pivotal 11-7 victory held in the third-and-final contest of the series held at Joseph P. Riley, Jr. Park.
 
"It's been a while since we've swept a series this season and it's really been a roller-coaster year for us," said Samford head coach Casey Dunn. "We're on a four-game winning streak right now and hopefully we can keep things building. It's going to take four wins to win the conference tournament here in a week and a half, so hopefully we can keep things rolling."
 
With the win, Samford (30-22, 11-10 SoCon) finished the week with a perfect 4-0 record. Prior to their road series sweep of The Citadel (16-36, 6-15 SoCon), the Bulldogs earned a 3-1 victory at crosstown-rival UAB on Tuesday.
 
Samford also reached the 30-win plateau for the ninth time in 11 seasons Sunday. Since April 30, the Bulldogs have rattled off six-consecutive victories in road games and have upped their record to 12-10 when playing away from home this season.
 
On Tuesday, Samford will complete its non-conference, regular-season schedule on the road against Alabama. The contest is slated to begin at 6:30 p.m. (CDT) from Sewell-Thomas Stadium in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. With a victory Tuesday, the Bulldogs will extend their winning streak to five-consecutive games and complete their season sweep of the Crimson Tide.
 
"Tuesday's going to be a really big game," Dunn said. "We're playing at their place, which most people say is the best venue in the country and for them it's a must-win. They're chasing an at-large bid and the last thing they need is to lose, but we'll see what happens. We have a great opportunity to play well and to win a big game."
 
Samford scored 11 runs on 11 hits Sunday and forced The Citadel to use a season-high 10 pitchers. The Bulldogs jumped out to an early 5-0 lead in the second inning and were bolstered by sophomore Austin Edens' three-run homer in the top of the first. Edens, Samford's talented power hitter from Baton Rouge, Louisiana, upped his season total to 18 with the first-inning round-tripper.
 
The Bulldogs' Edens and Heath Quinn both boast 18 home runs this season and are tied for second place in the nation in the category.
 
Quinn, Samford's junior right-fielder from Birmingham, Alabama, earned a piece of school history Sunday as he became the Bulldogs' single-season leader in RBI. With three runs batted in during a 3-for-4 performance at the plate against The Citadel, Quinn surpassed former Samford-great Brandon Miller for the school's all-time lead with 66. In 2012, Miller set the previous single-season record with 65.
 
"Heath's rolling right now and it's not surprising that the team is doing well when he's doing well," said Dunn. "We're hard to beat when our hitters are hitting and hopefully our offense can be hitting on all cylinders as we wrap up the regular season and head to the SoCon Tournament."
 
In the top of the second, Samford extended its early lead to 5-0 as the Bulldogs tallied two more runs on two hits in the frame.
 

Samford's Richard Greene opened the scoring with a solo home run to deep center field. The blast proved to be his fifth home run of the season. The Bulldogs notched their second run of the inning as senior Frankie Navarrete scored from third base on a wild pitch from The Citadel hurler Jordan Buster.
 
Samford's Quinn paced the Bulldogs' offense with his 3-for-4 performance Sunday, while Danny Rodriguez finished with a 2-for-5 outing at the plate. Additionally, Samford's T.J. Dixon, Edens, Alex Lee, Grant Colton and Navarrete all tallied base hits as well.
 
The Bulldogs' Dixon, Hunter Swilling and Navarrete scored two runs apiece to help propel Samford to victory.
 
In the top of the seventh inning, the Bulldogs entered the frame with a 7-5 record and tacked on three more key runs as Colton scored on a failed pickoff attempt and then Quinn ripped a huge two-run double down the left-field line.
 
Samford starting pitcher Stephen Jones (4-2) turned in a solid outing Sunday as the Bulldogs' true freshman only allowed two earned runs on six hits. Jones helped lead Samford to its second series sweep of the 2016 campaign as he notched the win.
 
The Citadel's Dylan Spence (0-4) suffered the loss as his earned-run average grew to 8.61 in the performance.
 

The Bulldogs' Tristan Widra, Tanner Cunningham and Jack Rude all spent key time on the mound Sunday. Widra came in with the bases loaded in the bottom of the fourth inning with nobody out and proceeded to strike out the side to end the frame.
 
Widra closed out the inning for Samford as he accounted for three of the team's six strikeouts in the game.
 
"I thought that Tristan did a phenomenal job of getting out of the bases-loaded jam, but then he had a few control issues in the next inning," Dunn said. "All of our pitchers today showed some bright spots, but they also struggled at times as well."
 
The Citadel's top offensive performers Sunday were Clay Martin, Stephen Windham and Steven Hansen. All three of the aforementioned players finished with two hits in the contest.
 
The Samford University baseball team will next be in action Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. (CDT) as the Bulldogs play their final midweek non-conference contest of the season on the road against the Alabama Crimson Tide. Tuesday's game at Alabama will be held at the Crimson Tide's brand-new Sewell-Thomas Stadium.
 
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