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TUSCALOOSA, Ala. -- The Samford University baseball team will compete in its final non-conference game of the regular season Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. (CDT) as the Bulldogs travel to Tuscaloosa for a midweek road test against the Alabama Crimson Tide in an in-state matchup to be held at Sewell-Thomas Stadium.
 
Samford (30-22) heads into the contest riding a wave of positive momentum after earning a three-game road sweep at The Citadel over the weekend. With their critical league performance, the Bulldogs extended their winning streak to four-consecutive games and moved to within striking distance of third place in the Southern Conference standings.
 
Samford has been victorious in six-consecutive road games and owns a solid 12-10 record when playing away from home this season. As a team, the Bulldogs are ranked fourth in the nation in home runs (70), sixth in home runs per game (1.35), 16th in slugging percentage (.480), 17th in hits (555) and 21st in runs (377).
 
Samford has outscored its in-state opponents by a total of 113-52 this year en route to a 9-2 record.
 

Individually, the Bulldogs' leading hitter this season is junior right-fielder Heath Quinn. Quinn, a native of Birmingham and former prep star at Oak Mountain High School, boasts a .351 batting average this season with 18 home runs, 56 runs scored and a school-record 66 RBI. Sophomore Austin Edens follows closely with a .343 batting average, while Alex Lee sits at .332 and T.J. Dixon is hitting .314 this year.
 
Samford's starting pitcher Tuesday will be true freshman Connor Radcliff (3-3). The Bulldogs' highly-touted, right-hander from Birmingham will be making his 11th start of the 2016 campaign. Radcliff is averaging three innings per outing this season, which also includes three appearances from the bullpen. He has tallied 33 strikeouts in 39 innings of action this year.
 
TUESDAY NIGHT'S PITCHING MATCHUP
Samford - - - #23 RHP Connor Radcliff (3-3, 7.62 ERA - - - Freshman, Birmingham, Ala.)
Alabama - - - #20 RHP Brock Love (0-0, 3.12 ERA - - - Freshman, Rainbow City, Ala.)
 
SCOUTING THE COMPETITION
Alabama (30-21) enters Tuesday's game with a full head of steam after traveling to Arkansas over the weekend and sweeping the Razorbacks in decisive fashion. The Crimson Tide improved to 15-12 in Southeastern Conference play and outscored Arkansas by a total of 25-14 in the three games.
 
Alabama returns home to Tuscaloosa this week where the Crimson Tide has registered an impressive 18-9 record when playing in its brand-new Sewell-Thomas Stadium. Alabama owns a 7-5 record in its last 12 home games, including a series win against No. 8-ranked Ole Miss and a triumph over No. 3 Mississippi State on April 30. In its last home series, the Crimson Tide took two out of three games from Auburn.
 
Alabama is ranked No. 28 in the nation in pitching shutouts. Already this season, the Crimson Tide has held five teams scoreless. Alabama is only allowing four runs per game this season.
 
Offensively, the Crimson Tide's top hitter this year is Scott, Louisiana, native Chance Vincent, who is hitting .298 with 28 RBI and 18 runs scored. He tallied a 2-for-4 performance at the plate in Alabama's first matchup against Samford on April 26.
 
The Crimson Tide's starting pitcher Tuesday will be freshman right-hander Brock Love (0-0). He will be making his fourth start of the season and his 11th appearance of the 2016 campaign. Love owns a 3.12 earned-run average with 26 strikeouts in 26 innings pitched.
 

BULLDOGS' RECORD VERSUS ALABAMA - - THE DUNN ERA
Since Head Coach Casey Dunn took the reins to the Bulldogs' baseball program in 2004, Samford has compiled a 7-14 record against Alabama.
 
Earlier this season, the teams squared off at Joe Lee Griffin Field in Birmingham on April 26, as the Bulldogs rallied in the bottom of the ninth inning to earn a thrilling 3-2 victory on a walk-off, two-run homer from true freshman Ben Carrick.
 
With the win, Samford snapped a nine-game losing streak against the Crimson Tide. The Bulldogs' win ended a dry spell in the series that dated back to a 4-2 road victory on April 5, 2011.
 
SAMFORD AGAINST IN-STATE OPPONENTS
The Bulldogs boast an impressive 9-2 record against in-state opponents this season and have been victorious in 13 of their last 15 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 Alabama, 3-2, Troy, 20-6 and Alabama A&M, 18-6, while earning home-and-home sweeps over Alabama State, 18-7 and 13-3, Jacksonville State, 10-7 and 7-6, and UAB, 13-2 and 3-1, 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 113-52 this season and has tallied an average of 10.3 runs per matchup.
 

JUST WALK IT OFF
Twice in the last few weeks, Samford tallied a pair of walk-off victories in thrilling fashion 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 April 26, Samford earned a similar 3-2 triumph as freshman Carrick sent a one-out, two-run walk-off homer over the wall in left field to defeat Alabama.
 
BULLDOGS IN THE NATIONAL RANKINGS
Category, Rank (Value)
Home Runs, #4 (70)
Home Runs Per Game, #6 (1.35)
Slugging Percentage, #16 (.480)
Hits, #17 (555)
Runs, #21 (377)
Scoring, #29 (7.3 rpg)
Base on Balls, #29 (240)
On Base Percentage, #32 (.395)
Batting Average, #36 (.302)
 

SAMFORD'S QUINN SETS SCHOOL'S RBI RECORD
On Sunday at The Citadel, the Bulldogs' Quinn turned in a 3-for-4 performance at the plate and drove in three runs. With his three RBI outing, Quinn moved past former Bulldog-great Brandon Miller and set the school's single-season record in RBI with 66. Quinn, the SoCon's active leader in career RBI, has already tallied 170 RBI in his career and is only a junior.
 
BULLDOGS' HEATH QUINN IN THE NATIONAL RANKINGS
Category, Rank (Value)
Runs Batted In, #2 (66)
Home Runs, #3 (18)
Runs Batted In Per Game, #7 (1.27)
Total Bases, #7 (142)
Home Runs Per Game, #9 (0.35)
Slugging Percentage, #15 (.693)
Runs, #18 (56)
Runs Per Game, #34 (1.08)
Base On Balls, #37 (39)
 
SAMFORD BOASTS TWO OF NATION'S TOP HOME RUN HITTERS
Heading into Tuesday's in-state rivalry game at Alabama, Samford's Quinn and Edens are ranked as two of the top home run hitters in the nation. Quinn and Edens, who have both powered personal-best totals of 18 home runs this season, are tied for third place in the national rankings.
 
Missouri State's Jake Burger and Eastern Kentucky's Kyle Nowlin are currently knotted for the country's lead with 19 home runs apiece, while Western Carolina's Bryce Bowman has also tallied 18 homers this season. Six sluggers, including Mercer's Kyle Lewis, sit tied for sixth place with 17 round-trippers this year.
 
Edens, Samford's talented sophomore designated hitter from Baton Rouge, Louisiana, has been on fire as of late. Since April 15, Edens has blasted 10 home runs and is hitting .397 with 28 RBI, 20 runs scored and a phenomenal .846 slugging percentage.
 
The Bulldogs' Quinn and Edens have combined to hit 36 home runs this season, while driving in a total of 123 runs and accumulating 279 total bases.
 

NATION'S HOME RUN LEADERS
Rank  Player, HRs
1.      Jake Burger, Missouri State, 19
          Kyle Nowlin, Eastern Kentucky, 19
3.      Austin Edens, Samford, 18
          Heath Quinn, Samford, 18
          Bryce Bowman, Western Carolina, 18
6.      Kyle Lewis, Mercer, 17
          Nick Feight, UNCW, 17        
          Spencer Johnson, Missouri State, 17
          Gary Russo, Miami (Ohio), 17
          Jesus Santana, Jackson State, 17
          Deon Stafford, Jr., Saint Joseph's, 17
          Tyler Jones, Air Force, 17
 
BULLDOGS' QUINN NAMED PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Samford's Quinn was named the Bulldogs' Player of the Week Monday after playing a huge role in the team's perfect 4-0 record last week. In four road victories, Quinn finished the week batting .533 (8-of-15) with six RBI, five runs scored, three doubles, two stolen bases and his 18th home run of the season.
 
Samford's highly-touted right-fielder also registered a .933 slugging percentage, as well as a remarkable .632 on-base percentage. At The Citadel over the weekend in a huge three-game SoCon series, Quinn turned in a sizzling 8-for-12 (.667) performance at the plate and became Samford's single-season record-holder in RBI with 66.
 
The Bulldogs' three-hole hitter finished 3-for-4 at the dish on both Friday and Sunday, while tallying a 2-for-4 outing in Saturday's critical 5-4 victory. Quinn accumulated 14 total bases last week and upped his season total to 142 on the season.                               
 
Samford's junior also leads the team this season in batting average (.351), runs (56), hits (72), RBI (66), slugging percentage (.693), walks (39) and on-base percentage (.462).
 

FEEL THE BURNS
Samford sophomore pitcher Wyatt Burns is ranked No. 7 in the nation this year with 31 appearances. The Bulldogs' crafty sidearmer from Pinson, Ala., also leads the team with six saves and owns a 3.31 earned-run average.
 
Burns is averaging just over an inning per appearance this season and has tallied 30 strikeouts in 32.2 stanzas in 2016. So far, he has only allowed 12 earned runs on 25 base hits in 31 appearances.
 
SAMFORD'S AUSTIN EDENS NAMED SOCON PLAYER OF THE MONTH
Samford's Edens garnered one of the SoCon's top honors on May 5 as the Bulldogs' sophomore designated hitter was named the conference's Player of the Month, it was officially released by the league's headquarters.
 
Edens finished the month hitting .394 (28-of-71) with 23 RBI, 16 runs scored, seven home runs, five doubles and nine bases on balls. He only struck out 10 total times in the month, while compiling a brilliant .761 slugging percentage and .463 on-base percentage.
 
Samford's Edens finished April as one of the hottest hitters in the nation. The Bulldogs' slugger rapped four doubles in his final four games of the month and turned an early .188 average into a team-high .394 mark in just three weeks.
 
Midway through April, Edens powered six home runs in four games and collected seven round-trippers in six outings.
 
AUSTIN EDENS IN THE NATIONAL RANKINGS
Category, Rank (Value)
Home Runs, #3 (18)
Home Runs Per Game, #5 (0.36)
Total Bases, #13 (137)
Runs Batted In, #23 (57)
Runs Batted In Per Game, #23 (1.14)
Slugging Percentage, #27 (.662)
Hits, #73 (72)
 

MIAMI NICE - - SAMFORD'S TALENTED SOUTH BEACH MIDDLE INFIELD
Samford boasts one of the best middle infield duos in the SoCon this season behind the play of talented seniors Rodriguez and Navarrete. Rodriguez and Navarrete are both natives of Miami, Florida, and have been teammates here at Samford for over three full years now.
 
Rodriguez, the Bulldogs' shortstop who prepped at Doral Academy in Miami, has started in 51 of the team's 52 games at the position this year and has only committed five errors this season in a total of 227 chances.
 
Navarrete, Samford's speedy second baseman and graduate of Christopher Columbus High School, has started in 41 of the team's 52 games this season and has only committed five errors in 193 chances.
 
RARIFIED AIR - - SAMFORD BOASTS TWO OF NATION'S TOP FIVE RETURNING HR HITTERS
The Bulldogs' Edens and Hunter 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 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 Nowlin (19), Florida's JJ Schwarz (18) and Mercer's Lewis (17).
 

HUNTER SWILLING IN THE NATIONAL RANKINGS
Category, Rank (Value)
Doubles, #7 (21)
Doubles Per Game, #22 (0.40)
Runs, #51 (51)
Total Bases, #78 (114)
Runs Per Game, #78 (0.98)
Runs Batted In, #80 (49)
 
GOING UP . . . ON A TUESDAY
Samford owns an impressive 9-2 record when playing on Tuesdays 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 Alabama, 3-2, Troy, 20-6, Alabama A&M, 18-6, Alabama State twice, 18-7 and 13-3, Jacksonville State twice, 10-7 and 7-6, and UAB twice, 13-2 and 3-1, 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 foes by a total of 113-52 this season when playing on Tuesdays.
 
WHAT'S COMING UP NEXT?
Following Tuesday's final regular-season, non-conference game of the 2016 campaign at Alabama, the Samford University baseball team will next be in action Thursday at 6 p.m. (CDT) as the Bulldogs begin a critical three-game SoCon series against the VMI Keydets to be held at Joe Lee Griffin Field.
 
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.

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