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BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- In front of a school-record crowd of 2,645 fans Tuesday, the Samford University baseball team rallied to score seven runs in the last four innings of play, but came just one run short in a hard-fought 16-15 slugfest against the No. 10-ranked Auburn Tigers in a nonconference showdown held at Joe Lee Griffin Field.
 
The Bulldogs' crowd of 2,645 fans surpassed the school's previous record of 2,145, which was registered in 2009 against Alabama.
 
With nobody out in the bottom of the ninth inning, Samford (19-14) only trailed Auburn (25-10) by a single run, 16-15, and sophomore second baseman Troy Dixon led off the frame with a single to right-center field.
 
Next up, Troy's older brother, senior centerfielder T.J. Dixon, worked a seven-pitch full count and then drilled the eighth pitch right back to the pitcher, Daniel Robert, who miraculously snagged the hard-hit line drive and threw the ball over to first base for a double play.
 
T.J. Dixon, who finished 4-for-6 with four runs scored and three RBI in the game, turned in his hardest hit of the game in the ninth inning, but the ball just happened to go directly into Robert's glove for a momentum-ailing double play. The Tigers then went on to get freshman Branden Fryman for the third out of the game to secure the 16-15 win.
 
Samford's Fryman also turned in a good day at the plate Tuesday. The Bulldogs' starting shortstop from Molino, Florida, finished 3-for-5 with three RBI and a run scored.
 
Six Bulldogs tallied multiple-hit performances against Auburn. T.J. Dixon led the way with his first four-hit outing of the season, while Fryman and Jordan Fucci notched three-hit nights for Samford. Fucci, the Bulldogs' talented starting right fielder went 3-for-4 with a pair of runs scored.
 
True freshman Taylor Garris, the reigning Southern Conference Player of the Week, blasted his fourth home run of the season and finished with a career-high five RBI. The Bulldogs' third baseman turned in a 2-for-4 performance and also tallied a key two-RBI single to left field in the bottom of the eighth inning.
 
Garris drove in all five of his runs in the last three innings of play and his late two-RBI single trimmed Auburn's lead to 16-15.
 
The nationally-ranked Tigers used a seven-run second inning to jump out to an early 8-1 lead over Samford. The Bulldogs then bounced back and scored five runs of their own to trim Auburn's advantage to 8-6 at the end of the second frame.
 
A key stretch for the Tigers occurred in the fifth and sixth innings as they were able to score three runs in each of those stanzas.
 
Jonah Todd led the way for Auburn with a 4-for-4 outing along with four runs scored and two RBI. Conor Davis, Dylan Ingram and Robert all finished with four RBI apiece. Robert and Ingram both posted massive home runs for the Tigers.
 
Samford received some key home runs of their own. Garris' three-run bomb in the seventh inning shifted the momentum of the game, and then true freshman Ayrton Schafer connected on his fifth round-tripper of the season to go back-to-back for the Bulldogs.
 
Schafer and Troy Dixon both turned in clutch two-hit outings for Samford in the contest.
 
The Bulldogs scored 15 runs on 17 hits in the game, while Auburn notched 16 runs on 13 hits. The Tigers' Calvin Coker (3-1) earned the win, while Samford starter Tristan Widra (1-3) was saddled with the loss. The Bulldogs sent a season-high 11 pitchers to the mound in the contest.
 
The Samford University baseball team will next be in action Thursday at 6 p.m. (CT) as the Bulldogs begin a huge three-game SoCon home series against The Citadel Bulldogs to be held at Joe Lee Griffin Field.
 
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