Game 1 - - Friday at 5 p.m. (CT) - - Video  |  Audio  |  Live Stats
Game 2 (DH) - - Saturday at 1 p.m. (CT) - - Video  |  Audio  |  Live Stats
Game 3 (DH) - - Saturday at 4 p.m. (CT) - - Video  |  Audio  |  Live Stats

Samford Game Notes

SPARTANBURG, S.C. -- The Samford University baseball team will begin play in an important Southern Conference series Friday at 5 p.m. (CT) as the Bulldogs travel to face the Wofford Terriers in a three-game set to be held at Russell C. King Field. Following Friday's opener, the teams will play a doubleheader Saturday beginning at 1 p.m.
 
Samford (21-15, 4-5 SoCon) enters the weekend with a bit of positive momentum after winning a critical a three-game home series against The Citadel last week, 2-1.
 
Samford won the first game of the set, 1-0, but The Citadel bounced back to take game two, 8-6. In the third-and-decisive contest of the series, Samford used a late eighth-inning rally to defeat The Citadel, 7-4. With their win, the Bulldogs improved to 13-5 at home this season.
 
On the road this year, Samford owns a respectable 8-10 record, but is only 2-4 in SoCon play. The Bulldogs took two out of three games at VMI to open league play before being swept on the road by first-place Mercer two weeks ago.
 
SCOUTING THE COMPETITION
Wofford (20-17, 5-4 SoCon) enters this weekend's series as one of the hottest teams in the conference. The Terriers have been victorious in nine of their last 12 games, including four of their last five.
 
Since dropping two straight games at home to VMI on April 7-9, Wofford bounced back to win the series finale, 13-3, and then smoked UNC Asheville in a midweek matchup, 17-8.
 
Last week, in a three-game series at UNCG, the Terriers earned wins in the first two outings, 13-4 and 8-7, but then lost the finale, 13-12, in an offensive slugfest held in Greensboro, North Carolina. Wofford has scored in double figures in four of its last five games and is averaging 12.8 runs per contest during the stretch.
 
The Terriers have been a bit of an anomaly this season in that they have played better on the road. Wofford owns an 8-6 mark when playing away from home this year, but are just 11-11 in the friendly confines of King Field.
 
Junior outfielder McClain Bradley has proven to be the Terriers' top hitter this season with an impressive .388 batting average. He has recorded 33 hits in only 22 games this year and has scored 25 runs and tallied 25 RBI.
 
Junior Max McDougald and senior Brett Hash are also batting over .300 this season. McDougald boasts a .323 average with 43 hits, while Hash is hitting .315 and leads the team in both home runs (9) and doubles (10).
 
BULLDOGS' RECORD VERSUS WOFFORD - - THE DUNN ERA
Since Head Coach Casey Dunn took the reins to the Bulldogs' baseball program in 2004, Samford has compiled a 19-10 record against Wofford. Last season, the Bulldogs and Terriers squared off in a three-game series held in Birmingham, Alabama, and Samford won the set two games to one.
 
The Bulldogs dropped the opening game of the series, 4-3, at Joe Lee Griffin Field, but then rallied back to win the next two outings by scores of 11-3 and 6-0. Two years ago, in the most recent series held at Wofford, Samford won the first contest, 8-3, before dropping the final two, 5-2 and 12-9.
 
THIS WEEKEND'S PITCHING MATCHUPS
 
SAMFORD'S STARTING PITCHERS
Friday - - RHP, Cody Shelton, So. (Brentwood, Tennessee) - - 3-0 (1.42 ERA)
Saturday - - RHP, Mikhail Cazenave, Sr. (Rainbow City, Alabama) - - 2-5 (5.40 ERA)
Sunday - - TBA
 
WOFFORD'S STARTING PITCHERS
Friday - - LHP, Adam Scott, Jr. (Canandaigua, New York) - - 4-3 (4.75 ERA)
Saturday - - RHP, Spencer Kulman, Sr. (Briarcliff Manor, New York) - - 7-2 (3.99 ERA)
Sunday - - LHP, Austin Higginbotham, So. (Gainesville, Georgia) - - 2-4 (5.37 ERA)
 
QUICK NOTES OF THE DAY
(1.):  Samford played in front of a school-record home crowd of 2,645 fans on April 11 when the Bulldogs nearly came from behind to defeat the No. 10-ranked Auburn Tigers, 16-15, in a nonconference in-state showdown.
 
(2.):  Already this season, the Bulldogs own a perfect 15-0 record when leading after six innings, a 16-0 mark when leading after seven, as well as a 17-0 record when leading after eight innings of action.
 
(3.):  No. 10 Auburn proved to be the highest-ranked opponent that Samford played at home in Joe Lee Griffin Field since May 15, 2012, when the Bulldogs hosted No. 3 Florida and earned a historic 12-7 victory over the Gators.
 
EDENS IN THE SOCON
Samford's Austin Edens is the active SoCon career leader in home runs (42). The Bulldogs' talented power hitter is also ranked second on the active SoCon leader list in both RBI (140) and doubles (36), while he is tied for the third position in hits (188) along with Furman's Carter Grote.
 
FEEL THE BURNS
Samford's Wyatt Burns is currently ranked second in the nation in saves this season. The Bulldogs' junior native of Pinson, Alabama, heads into this weekend's road series against Wofford with 12 saves during the 2017 campaign.
 
SAMFORD'S DUNN NEARS 400-WIN PLATEAU
As Samford heads into this weekend's road series at Wofford, Dunn boasts a 395-339 all-time record with the school, and is only five wins shy of reaching the vaunted 400-win plateau. Dunn is currently in the midst of his 13th season at the helm of Samford's baseball program.
 
Last year, on March 18, 2016, the Bulldogs earned an 8-5 home victory against Jacksonville. With the triumph, Dunn reached the 350-win mark in his 12th season at the helm of the Bulldogs' baseball program.
 
Dunn was named Samford's head baseball coach in August 2004. Under his leadership, the Bulldogs have posted 30-plus wins in nine of the last 11 seasons, including the 2016 campaign. The team has also played in the SoCon Tournament title game in four of the last six years.
 
In 2012, Dunn coached the Bulldogs to their first SoCon championship and NCAA Tournament bid. The team also set a school record for wins with 41. Also in 2012, Dunn's squad produced a school-record seven Major League Baseball Draft picks, and it had a total of nine players sign with MLB teams.
 
DID YOU KNOW?
Under Dunn's tutelage, Samford is the winningest Division I program in the state of Alabama since 2011, and the Bulldogs have had 19 players selected in the MLB Draft over the last six years.
 
WHAT'S COMING UP NEXT?
Following this weekend's SoCon road series at Wofford, the Samford University baseball team will next be in action Tuesday at 6 p.m. (CT) as the Bulldogs remain on the road to face Alabama A&M in Huntsville, Alabama. Samford will then play a home midweek game versus Alabama State on Wednesday at 6 p.m., 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.

Game 1 - - Friday at 5 p.m. (CT) - - Video  |  Audio  |  Live Stats
Game 2 (DH) - - Saturday at 1 p.m. (CT) - - Video  |  Audio  |  Live Stats
Game 3 (DH) - - Saturday at 4 p.m. (CT) - - Video  |  Audio  |  Live Stats

Samford Game Notes