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TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- The Samford University baseball team will face its toughest challenge of the 2017 season this weekend as the Bulldogs square off against the No. 5-ranked Florida State Seminoles in a marquee three-game series to be held at FSU's historic Mike Martin Field at Dick Howser Stadium.
 
Samford (2-1) heads into the weekend with the positive momentum of a season-opening series victory under its belt. Last week, in their season-opening series, the Bulldogs played host to UNC Asheville and garnered wins in two of the three games played at home in Birmingham, Alabama.
 
Samford tallied victories in the first two games of the series, 6-2, and 4-1, before dropping the third game, 6-4.
 
Fans can watch all three games of this weekend's series at Florida State (2-2) live on the ESPN3/ACC Network Extra with Jonathan Schillace (Friday) and Jason Leturmy (Saturday & Sunday) joining Chip Baker in the broadcast booth.
 
THE LAST TIME OUT
Samford nearly registered a three-game sweep in its opening series of the 2017 season Sunday, but the Bulldogs surrendered four unearned runs in the final five innings of play to drop a 6-4 decision to the UNC Asheville Bulldogs in the final matchup of the set held at Joe Lee Griffin Field.
 
Samford used a four-run outburst in the bottom of the fourth inning to garner a 4-1 lead. Sophomore second baseman Troy Dixon jumpstarted the rally with a bunt single to first base. He later scored on a wild pitch from UNC Asheville starter Spencer Orr.
 
Next up in the inning, Samford's Kevin Williams, Jr., and Ayrton Schafer powered back-to-back home runs. Williams' round-tripper proved to be his second of the season and cleared the wall with ease in left-center field. Williams, Samford's talented junior left fielder from Miami, Florida, has already hit two home runs this season and is batting .444 on the year.
 
Schafer, the Bulldogs' true freshman right fielder out of Collierville, Tennessee, blasted his third home run in three games this season. Sunday's bomb carried out to right field and gave Samford its early 4-1 advantage in the contest.
 
The Bulldogs' Stephen Jones started the game on the mound and only allowed one run on a solo homer in the fourth inning. He pitched four innings, only gave up three hits and finished with a trio of strikeouts.
 
QUICK NOTE OF THE DAY
In three games this season, Samford's pitching staff has only allowed five earned runs, while tallying 30 strikeouts.
 
SAMFORD'S STARTING ROTATION
Friday - - RHP, Jesse McCord, So. (Spanish Fort, Alabama) - - 0-0 (1.59 ERA)
Saturday - - RHP, Mikhail Cazenave, Sr. (Rainbow City, Alabama) - - 1-0 (0.00 ERA)
Sunday - - RHP, Stephen Jones, So. (Tallahassee, Florida) - - 0-0 (2.25 ERA)
 
FLORIDA STATE'S STARTING ROTATION
Friday - - LHP, Drew Parrish, Fr. (Rockledge, Florida) - - 0-0 (6.75 ERA)
Saturday - - RHP, Cole Sands, So. (Tallahassee, Florida) - - 1-0 (0.00 ERA)
Sunday - - LHP, Tyler Holton, So. (Tallahassee, Florida) - - 1-0 (1.50 ERA)
 
BULLDOGS SPORTING SOME NEW STARTERS
Samford's 2017 opening-day starting lineup consisted of four true freshmen and a junior transfer, who all made their Bulldog debuts Friday against UNC Asheville in a 6-2 victory. Samford's freshmen in the starting lineup this season have been shortstop Branden Fryman, designated hitter Schafer, catcher Anthony Mulrine and third baseman Ryan Crockett. Williams, who transferred in from Miami-Dade College has started all three games in left field and is hitting .444 on the year.
 
SAMFORD'S OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Samford's Schafer, a true freshman who played in his first career series at Samford last week, has homered in all three Samford games this season and owns a .444 batting average to go along with five RBI, four hits and three runs scored. He has also compiled a 1.444 slugging percentage and a solid .545 on-base percentage.
 
BULLDOGS' PITCHER OF THE WEEK
Samford's Mikhail Cazenave struck out seven hitters and only allowed three total baserunners Saturday in the Bulldogs' 4-1 home victory against UNC Asheville. He pitched six scoreless innings and put Samford in a great position to earn the victory.
 
SCOUTING THE COMPETITION
Florida State (2-2) enters the weekend as the No. 5-ranked team in the nation. The Seminoles opened their 2017 campaign last week with a 3-0 loss to VCU, but then rebounded with a pair of blowout victories over the Rams, 12-3 and 11-3, to win the series. On Tuesday, Florida State faced USF in an in-state showdown and suffered a 4-2 loss.
 
This week, the Seminoles' Opening Day starter Drew Carlton, the most experienced starting pitcher on the staff who allowed just two runs in the opener against VCU, will become FSU's new closer.
 
Freshman Drew Parrish, a lefthander who has appeared in two games early in the season, will take over Carlton's role in the rotation. Sophomore righthander Cole Sands and lefty Tyler Holton round out the lineup.
 
Carlton joins a Seminole bullpen that allowed four runs in the ninth inning of Tuesday's 4-2 loss to USF. He is 13-9 in his career and has started 30 of his 36 appearances as a Seminole.
 
Junior shortstop Taylor Walls, a preseason All-American, has been Florida State's top bat in the lineup early in the year. Walls enters this weekend's series with a .333 average, three doubles, six RBI and five runs scored to go along with six walks. His .556 on-base percentage ranks 10th in the Atlantic Coast Conference.
 
SAMFORD vs. FLORIDA STATE - - THE ALL-TIME SERIES
The Bulldogs and Seminoles will be meeting on the diamond for the 20^th time in history Friday. Florida State leads the all-time series, 18-1, but the teams have only met twice since 1989. The Seminoles are in the midst of a 16-game winning streak in the series, including a pair of matchups held in the 2012 Tallahassee Regional.
 
WHAT'S COMING UP NEXT?
Following this weekend's three-game set at No. 5 Florida State, the Samford University baseball team will next be in action Tuesday at 3 p.m. (CT) as the Bulldogs conclude their arduous four-game road stretch with an in-state contest against the Auburn Tigers. Tuesday's game will be held at Auburn's Samford Stadium-Hitchcock Field at Plainsman Park.
 
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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