Game One Box Score
Game Two Box Score
Updated Stats

SPARTANBURG, S.C. -- The Samford University baseball team lost just its second Southern Conference series of the 2017 season Saturday as the Bulldogs split a road doubleheader against the Wofford Terriers held at King Field. After losing the opener Friday, 7-5, Samford bounced back to defeat Wofford in Saturday's first contest, 8-2, but then dropped the decisive game of the series, 6-3, in the nightcap.
 
Samford (22-17, 5-7 SoCon) moved to 9-12 in road games this season and 3-6 against SoCon foes when playing away from the friendly confines of Joe Lee Griffin Field.
 
Wofford (22-18, 7-5 SoCon) continued to prove it's one of the hottest teams in the conference. The Terriers have been victorious in 11 of their last 15 games, including six of their last eight.
 
DOUBLEHEADER GAME ONE - - SAMFORD def. WOFFORD, 8-2
Behind a brilliant complete-game performance from senior right-hander Mikhail Cazenave (3-5), the Bulldogs cruised to a decisive 8-2 victory.
 
Cazenave only allowed two runs on eight hits and struck out eight Wofford hitters in the triumph. Additionally, Samford's talented native of Rainbow City, Alabama, only allowed a single base on balls.
 
Offensively, the Bulldogs scored three combined runs in the first two innings and then exploded for a five-spot in the fifth frame. Samford held a lopsided 8-0 advantage in the game before the Terriers added their only two scores in the bottom of the eighth.
 
Sophomore Troy Dixon starred in the victory with a 4-for-5 performance at the plate. The Bulldogs' starting second baseman from Mobile, Alabama, drove in three runs in the contest and blasted his third home run of the season. Dixon's two-run homer occurred in the second inning of action.
 
Fellow sophomore Jordan Fucci also shined in the first game of the doubleheader. Samford's right-fielder from Lexington, Kentucky, finished 3-for-5 at the dish with a run scored and an RBI.
 
Senior T.J. Dixon also turned in a multi-hit performance as he went 2-for-6 from the leadoff spot. He scored two of the Bulldogs' eight runs in the victory.
 
Samford also received key RBI base hits from juniors Austin Edens and Kevin Williams, Jr.
 
DOUBLEHEADER GAME TWO - - WOFFORD def. SAMFORD, 6-3
In the decisive contest of the series, Wofford's starting pitcher Austin Higginbotham (3-4) matched Cazenave's performance in the first game to lift the Terriers to a 6-3 victory in the finale.
 
Higginbotham earned the complete-game win and only allowed three runs on nine hits. All three of Samford's runs were earned as he compiled seven strikeouts.
 
The Bulldogs left eight runners on base in the loss, compared to just two from Wofford. Higginbotham only allowed a single walk and proved to be able to work his way out of a few key Samford rallies.
 
The Bulldogs scored first in the second inning to take a quick 1-0 lead, but then the Terriers tallied four straight runs in the next three frames to jump ahead 4-1 in six complete stanzas.
 
Samford scored twice in the top of the seventh to trim Wofford's advantage to 4-3, but then the Terriers put the game away with two crucial runs in the bottom of the eighth.
 
The Dixons led the Bulldogs in game two as they combined for five of the team's nine hits. T.J. Dixon led the way with a 3-for-5 outing, while Troy Dixon turned in a 2-for-3 performance. T.J. scored a run and added an RBI, while Troy crossed the plate once from his all-important, nine-hole position in the order.
 
Samford also received hits from true freshmen Branden Fryman, Taylor Garris and Ayrton Schafer, as well as Williams, Jr.
 
The Bulldogs' right-hander Stephen Jones (2-3) earned the start in the nightcap, but suffered the loss. He pitched four full innings and allowed three runs on five hits, while striking out four.
 
The Samford University baseball team will next be in action Tuesday at 3 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.
 
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Game One Box Score
Game Two Box Score
Updated Stats