Box Score
Photo Gallery
Samford Stats

GREENVILLE, S.C. -- The Samford University baseball team used a gutsy pitching performance from senior Parker Curry and eight runs in the first four innings of play to knock off the third-seeded UNCG Spartans on Wednesday, as the Bulldogs garnered the all-important, opening-round victory in the 2016 Southern Conference Baseball Championship held at Fluor Field.
 
"Parker Curry is a battler and he didn't have his best stuff tonight, but he found a way to give us seven innings and to win a ballgame, so I can't say enough about what he did tonight," said Samford head coach Casey Dunn. "I also thought Wyatt (Burns) was really good for us late in the game. He got us six clean outs and just kept filling up the strike zone."
 
With the win, Samford (33-24) moved into Thursday's winner's bracket game where the Bulldogs will square off against second-seeded Western Carolina at 6:30 p.m. (CDT).
 
Earlier this season, Samford and Western Carolina squared off in a three-game series held in Cullowhee, North Carolina. The Catamounts ended up winning the rubber game of the set in 11 innings, 6-5.
 
UNCG (37-20) dropped to 1-3 against Samford this year. In the regular season, the Bulldogs won two out of three games held at the UNCG Baseball Stadium in Greensboro, North Carolina.
 
Samford used a four-run outburst in the fourth inning to pull the first upset of the SoCon Baseball Championship on Wednesday.
 
With the game tied at 4-4 heading into the fourth, Bulldog second baseman Frankie Navarrete lifted a triple off the wall in center field to score Jordan Fucci and Danny Rodriguez, who opened the frame with consecutive singles. T.J. Dixon followed with an RBI single, and after he stole second, Heath Quinn drove him in with a single to center to make it 8-4.
 
"I thought Frankie had a great night tonight and he's a tournament guy," Dunn said. "Frankie always seems to turn it up a notch in the tournament and especially in big games and that's exactly what he did tonight."
 
That was enough for Samford starter Curry (7-2), who picked up the win despite allowing five runs on 12 hits and two walks in seven innings. He struck out eight.
 
"Our offense deserves a lot of credit tonight," said Curry. "I definitely didn't have my best stuff out there, but we were able to score a lot of runs early and that kept me in the game. They also kept our team in the game. Defensively, I thought we were phenomenal as well. We're going to sleep well tonight, get rested up and get ready for another big game tomorrow night."
 
Samford opened the scoring on Austin Edens' solo home run to center to lead off the second, but UNCG seized momentum in the bottom half of the frame on Jake Kusz's three-run shot.
 
The Bulldogs reclaimed the lead in the third, getting a two-run triple from Hunter Swilling and another RBI single from Quinn to make it 4-3, but UNCG again had an answer, as Cesar Trejo hit a solo homer to left field in the bottom half of the inning.
 
Samford put up the 4-spot the following inning and Curry made it stand despite surrendering an RBI single to Kusz in the sixth that provided the final margin.
 
The Spartans ran themselves out of several scoring chances. After Trejo's third-inning blast, L.J. Kalawaia and Collin Woody singled to put runners at first and second, but Curry struck out Dillon Stewart and catcher Richard Greene fired to third to catch Kalawaia trying to steal for an inning-ending double play.
 
The next inning, Ryne Sigmon was picked off of second base after a leadoff double, just before Kusz stroked a double to left-center. In the bottom of the fifth, Ben Spitznagel led off with a single, but right fielder Quinn fired to first to nab Spitznagel straying too far from the bag after making the turn.
 
"Our defense was the difference tonight," said Dunn. "Heath's throw-behind was huge for us and then Parker picks a guy off after a double. They get another double in that inning and don't score a run. The play that Danny (Rodriguez) made in the ninth inning was unbelievable. It was even bigger, because you never want to let the leadoff hitter get on base."
 
Hunter Smith (6-5) was tagged with the loss after allowing eight runs on 10 hits and a walk in 3 2/3 innings. He struck out six.
 
Kusz and Kalawaia had three hits each, with Kusz driving in four runs on the day. Quinn, Edens and Navarrete had two hits each for the Bulldogs.
 
Samford's Wyatt Burns came in to pitch in the eighth inning and closed the door on UNCG. The Bulldogs' sophomore from Pinson, Alabama, struck out three of the six batters that he faced and earned his seventh save of the season. Burns didn't allow a base hit in the contest and three a total of 27 pitches.
 
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.

Box Score
Photo Gallery
Samford Stats