Game 1 - - Friday at 4 p.m. (CT) - - Video (YouTube)  |  Radio (91.1 FM)  |  Live Stats  |  Tickets
Game 2 - - Saturday at 2 p.m. (CT) - - Video (YouTube)  |  Radio (91.1 FM)  |  Live Stats  |  Tickets
Game 3 - - Sunday at Noon (CT) - - Video (YouTube)  |  Radio (91.1 FM)  |  Live Stats  |  Tickets

Samford Game Notes

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- The Samford University baseball team will begin play in one of its biggest home series' of the 2017 nonconference season Friday as the Bulldogs welcome the Indiana Hoosiers to Joe Lee Griffin Field for a three-game set scheduled to start at 4 p.m. (CT).
 
The teams are also slated to square off Saturday at 2 p.m., and noon on Sunday. Samford (3-4) owns a 2-1 record when playing at home this season.
 
The Bulldogs head into Friday's series-opening matchup boasting some positive momentum after knocking off in-state rival Auburn on the road Tuesday, 7-6.
 
THE LAST TIME OUT
Samford scored six runs on four hits in the first inning of play en route to a pivotal 7-6 road victory against the Auburn Tigers in front of 2,047 fans at Plainsman Park.
 
With the win, Samford improved to 7-4 versus Auburn since the beginning of 2011. The Bulldogs have also been victorious in each of the last two meetings held on the Plains.
 
Samford's T.J. Dixon started things off in the top of the first inning by leading off the game with a single to center field. Shortstop Branden Fryman then followed with another single to center before sophomore Troy Dixon roped a double into the gap in right-center field. On his drive, both T.J. Dixon and Fryman were able to score to give the Bulldogs a quick 2-0 lead.
 
Following a pair of walks drawn by Austin Edens and Ayrton Schafer, sophomore right fielder Jordan Fucci then earned a two-RBI single to extend Samford's advantage to 4-0.
 
The Bulldogs' last two runs of the opening frame were scored on a deep sacrifice fly to center field. With runners on second and third, Samford's Anthony Mulrine sent a high towering drive all the way to the warning track in center field. Auburn's Jonah Todd made the catch on the play, but Schafer and Fucci were both able to score from third and second base, respectively.
 
After a five-run fourth inning from the Tigers, Samford was clinging to a 6-5 advantage in the top of the seventh frame when Troy Dixon and Schafer opened the stanza with back-to-back singles to center field. Auburn's relief pitcher Gabe Klobosits was then able to tally a pair of strikeouts, leaving Garris at the plate with runners on first and second and two outs.
 
Garris, the Bulldogs' talented freshman from Sarasota, Florida, connected on a 1-2 pitch and blistered a single up the middle to drive in Samford's much-needed seventh run of the game.
 
Auburn added a run in its last-gasp effort in the bottom of the ninth inning, but the Bulldogs' Wyatt Burns was able to close out his third save of the season with a key strikeout of leftfielder Bo Decker.
 
Samford's Tristan Widra (1-1) earned the victory with a strikeout in 1.1 innings pitched. The Bulldogs used five pitchers Tuesday, including Burns' brilliant 2.2-inning performance to close out the win.
 
SCOUTING THE OPPOSITION
Indiana (3-4-1) continues a 12-game road trip to open the 2017 season with a three-game series against
Samford this weekend at Joe Lee Griffin Field. The Hoosiers are coming off a 6-1 setback against Cincinnati on Wednesday and a three-game split this past weekend with Florida Atlantic (1-1-1). The 6-6, 11 inning tie with FAU was Indiana's first tie since Feb. 25, 2001, at Winthrop.
 
The Hoosiers hit six home runs at Florida Atlantic last weekend, including two from senior Craig Dedelow and sophomore Luke Miller. The last time Indiana had six home runs in a three game series was April 15-17, 2016, against Iowa.
 
Indiana has hit nine home runs through its first eight games, good for first in the Big Ten. The last time the Hoosiers hit at least nine through the first eight contests was the 2002 season, when Indiana also hit nine through its first eight.
 
Sophomore catcher Ryan Fineman leads the Hoosiers through seven games with a .333 batting average and nine hits. He is tied for the team lead with Laren Eustace and Jeremy Houston in multi-hit games with three.
 
Indiana has yet to play a home game this season and is 1-2-1 in true road contests. The Hoosiers opened the 2017 campaign at the Surprise College Baseball Classic in Surprise, Ariz., and picked up a pair of neutral-site victories against Gonzaga, 12-5 and 5-1, but dropped two contests against No. 7 Oregon State, 1-0 and 4-1.
 
SAMFORD'S STARTING ROTATION
Friday - - RHP, Jesse McCord, So. (Spanish Fort, Alabama) - - 0-1 (9.35 ERA)
Saturday - - RHP, Mikhail Cazenave, Sr. (Rainbow City, Alabama) - - 1-1 (4.35 ERA)
Sunday - - RHP, Stephen Jones, So. (Tallahassee, Florida) - - 0-1 (9.39 ERA)
 
INDIANA'S STARTING ROTATION
Friday - - LHP, Tim Herrin, So. (Terre Haute, Indiana) - - 1-1 (4.00 ERA)
Saturday - - RHP, Brian Hobbie, Jr. (Springfield, Illinois) - - 0-1 (6.52 ERA)
Sunday - - TBA
 
QUICK NOTE OF THE DAY
All seven of the Bulldogs' home runs this season have been hit by a pair of Bulldogs. Kevin Williams, Jr., leads the team with four, while true freshman Ayrton Schafer has connected on three.
 
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 debut Feb. 17, against UNC Asheville in a 6-2 victory. Samford's freshmen in the starting lineup this season have been Fryman, Schafer, Mulrine and Garris. Williams, Jr., who transferred in from Miami-Dade College has started all six games in left field and is hitting .450 on the year.
 
QUICK NOTES
- - - Fryman's father, Travis Fryman, played 13 years in Major League Baseball for the Detroit Tigers and Cleveland Indians. He currently a hitting instructor for the Cleveland Indians farm system. He also managed the Mahoning Valley Scrappers from 2008 to 2010.
 
- - - Brothers T.J. Dixon and Troy Dixon are from Mobile, Ala., and are both starters for the Bulldogs this season. T.J. is a senior and has been a staple in center field for three years now. Troy, who is a sophomore, has started five games at second base for Samford this season.
 
- - - Williams, Jr., is the son of former professional football player, Kevin Williams, who played wide receiver for eight years in the NFL for the Dallas Cowboys, Arizona Cardinals, Buffalo Bills and San Francisco 49ers. During his time with the Cowboys, he played alongside Hall of Fame wide receiver Michael Irvin.
 
- - - Samford's Edens powered 19 home runs last season and finished the year ranked eighth in the nation in the category. The Bulldogs' powerful junior first baseman entered the 2017 campaign tied for third place on the nation's top returning home run hitters list.
 
WHAT'S COMING UP NEXT?
Following this weekend's three-game home series against Indiana, the Samford University baseball team will next be in action Tuesday and Wednesday as the Bulldogs play a two-game, home-and-home midweek series against the Alabama State Hornets.
 
As of Thursday evening, the teams are scheduled to play on the road at Alabama State on Tuesday and at home in Birmingham on Wednesday, but due to a scheduling conflict at ASU, the game will most likely be flip-flopped.
 
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.

Game 1 - - Friday at 4 p.m. (CT) - - Video (YouTube)  |  Radio (91.1 FM)  |  Live Stats  |  Tickets
Game 2 - - Saturday at 2 p.m. (CT) - - Video (YouTube)  |  Radio (91.1 FM)  |  Live Stats  |  Tickets
Game 3 - - Sunday at Noon (CT) - - Video (YouTube)  |  Radio (91.1 FM)  |  Live Stats  |  Tickets