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BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- The Samford University baseball team received a brilliant pitching performance from sophomore right-hander Cody Shelton on Friday as the Bulldogs earned a key 8-3 Southern Conference victory against the Western Carolina Catamounts in a series-opening showdown held at Joe Lee Griffin Field.
 
Shelton (4-1), Samford's talented starting pitcher from Brentwood, Tennessee, didn't allow a single run in the contest and hurled six full innings for the Bulldogs. Shelton left Friday's matchup with a 7-0 lead and improved his team-best, earned run average on the season to 1.70.
 
Samford (25-17, 6-7 SoCon) picked up its third straight victory and improved to 15-5 when playing at home this season. The Bulldogs are currently in the midst of a nine-game homestand.
 
Western Carolina (21-20, 10-6 SoCon) had its five-game winning streak snapped Friday. The Catamounts' staff ace Bryan Sammons (5-3) was touched up for six earned runs on nine hits in five innings. The six earned runs allowed proved to be his highest total of the season.
 
Samford took a modest 1-0 lead in the second inning, but then broke the game wide open with four runs in the fourth and two more in the fifth. Heading into the sixth inning, the Bulldogs held a commanding 7-0 advantage.
 
True freshman Ayrton Schafer provided the big blast of the game Friday as Samford's powerful designated hitter from Collierville, Tennessee, smashed a deep three-run homer into a driving headwind well over the wall in left-center field. Schafer's dinger put the finishing touch on the Bulldogs' momentous four-run fourth inning.
 
Every player in Samford's starting lineup registered a hit against Western Carolina. Sophomore Jordan Fucci and true freshman Taylor Garris led the way with two hits apiece, while T.J. Dixon, Branden Fryman, Austin Edens, Kevin Williams, Jr., Anthony Mulrine and Troy Dixon also took part in the hit parade.
 
Garris led the way with two runs scored.
 
Western Carolina's Robinson brothers, Luke and Andrew, paced the Catamounts' offense. Luke came off the bench to finish 2-for-3 with a run scored, while Andrew went 2-for-4 and a run scored.
 
Late in the game, Western Carolina tried to mount a last-gasp rally with a run in the seventh and then two more in the eighth, but Samford's Wyatt Burns came on to pitch and shut the door. He didn't allow a single hit in 1.2 innings and tallied a pair of strikeouts.
 
Burns entered the game ranked fifth in the nation with 12 saves, but Friday's outing was not a save opportunity for the Bulldogs' junior.
 
Samford and Western Carolina will square off in game two of this weekend's three-game series Saturday at 2 p.m. (CT) here at Joe Lee Griffin Field.
 
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