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BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- The Samford University baseball team will continue play in its current nine-game homestand Tuesday at 6 p.m. (CT) as the Bulldogs welcome the UAB Blazers to Joe Lee Griffin Field for a key crosstown rivalry matchup.
 
Tuesday's showdown will mark Samford's fifth straight home game. The Bulldogs currently own a brilliant 16-6 record when playing at Joe Lee Griffin Field this season. Additionally, Samford holds an impressive 8-3 record against in-state opponents, including wins against No. 4 Auburn, Alabama, UAB, Troy, Alabama State and Alabama A&M.
 
GETTING STARTED
Samford (26-18) heads into the matchup with a great deal of positive momentum after earning its sixth straight weekend series victory of the season over Western Carolina. The Bulldogs won the first game, 8-3, but then dropped the second outing in slight fashion, 6-5.
 
On Sunday, in the rubber game of the key Southern Conference series, Samford received a brilliant pitching performance from sophomore Stephen Jones and tallied a 7-0 rain-shortened victory in seven innings.
 
The Bulldogs have been triumphant in four of their last five games and are coming off midweek nonconference wins against Alabama A&M, 31-1, and Alabama State, 14-4 (7).
 
DID YOU KNOW?
Under the tutelage of Head Coach Casey Dunn, 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.
 
THE LAST TIME OUT
Samford received a sterling pitching performance from Jones and clutch hitting from a trio of talented true freshmen as the Bulldogs earned a series-clinching 7-0 victory in a rain-shortened SoCon showdown against the Western Carolina Catamounts on Sunday at Joe Lee Griffin Field.
 
The triumph proved to be Samford's second shutout victory of the season. On April 13, the Bulldogs earned a 1-0 win over The Citadel here at "The Griff".
 
Jones, Samford's talented right-hander from Tallahassee, Florida, only allowed one hit in the win. He also struck out two Catamounts in arguably his strongest outing of the season. As a team, the Bulldogs limited Western Carolina to one official hit in the game.
 
Junior reliever Josh Rich came on in the top of the sixth inning with Samford leading, 3-0. He earned a trio of strikeouts in just two full frames of no-hit ball and registered his first save of the season.
 
Western Carolina's starting pitcher Brendan Nail kept Samford scoreless until the fifth frame when the Bulldogs rallied for three runs on two hits. Freshman third baseman Taylor Garris led off the inning with a single through the right side and then he was moved over to third on a fielding error by Nail.
 
Garris then scored on a sacrifice fly before Troy Dixon singled home Kevin Williams, Jr., with a single to right field. Samford's final run of the inning was tallied as T.J. Dixon sacrificed Ayrton Schafer home from third base on a sacrifice bunt.
 
The Bulldogs' bats remained hot in the sixth inning as well as they rallied for four more runs on four hits. Schafer provided the big blow of the frame with a triple off the wall in right-center field. He tallied two RBI on the play as both Austin Edens and Garris scored.
 
Garris and Troy Dixon led the way for Samford's offense with two hits apiece, while Schafer and Anthony Mulrine both drove in a pair of runs. Garris, Schafer and Mulrine are all true freshmen for this Bulldog squad, while Dixon is only a sophomore.
 
SCOUTING THE OPPOSITION
UAB (19-24) enters Tuesday's matchup with hopes of ending a two-game losing streak. Over the weekend, the Blazers played host to Charlotte in a Conference USA series and posted a Friday night victory, 3-2. UAB then dropped the final two games of the series by scores of 17-5 and 3-0 (6).
 
The Blazers have been defeated in 10 of their last 13 outings, including four of their last five. UAB currently owns a 7-14 record in C-USA play.
 
So far this season, the Blazers hold a 6-14 record in road games. Their last away victory occurred April 21, against Louisiana Tech, 14-9.
 
UAB's top hitters this season have been outfielder Brewer Hicklen, first baseman Carter Pharis and catcher Pierce Ressmeyer. Hicklen leads the team with a solid .345 batting average, while Pharis follows at .314. Additionally, the Blazers' Ressmeyer is also hitting over .300 with a current tally of .303.
 
As a team, UAB has powered 15 home runs this season as Hicklen has accounted for seven. The Huntsville native also leads the team with five triples, 26 RBI, 91 total bases, 12 stolen bases, a .641 slugging percentage and a .418 on-base percentage.
 
BULLDOGS' RECORD AGAINST UAB - - THE DUNN ERA
Since Dunn took the reins to the Bulldogs' baseball program in 2004, Samford has compiled a 17-7 record against UAB. Last year, the Bulldogs swept the annual home-and-home series with a 13-2 victory at Joe Lee Griffin Field, followed by a 3-1 triumph on the road against the Blazers on May 10.
 
Samford has won four straight games against UAB and hasn't been defeated in the series since May 7, 2014. Earlier this season, the Bulldogs and Blazers squared off at Regions Field on March 28, and Samford earned a 5-1 victory.
 
TUESDAY'S PITCHING MATCHUP
Samford - - RHP, Connor Radcliff, So. (Birmingham) || 2-2 (7.85 ERA)
UAB - - RHP, Austin Thomas, Sr. (Smiths Station) || 1-1 (3.63 ERA)
 
QUICK NOTES ON SAMFORD
(1.): On Tuesday, Samford earned a lopsided 31-1 road victory against Alabama A&M. The Bulldogs' 31 runs scored in the game tied the school record, which was set 104 years ago in 1913 when Samford, then known as Howard College, defeated Albertville, 31-0.
 
(2.): With the Bulldogs' 7-0 home victory against Western Carolina on Sunday, Samford's Dunn reached the 400-win mark for his career. He currently owns an impressive 400-342 all-time record with the Bulldogs.
 
(3.): Samford outscored its opponents by a total of 65-14 last week en route to earning a 4-1 record.
 
JONES NAMED SOCON PITCHER OF THE WEEK
Samford's Jones was honored Monday by being named the SoCon Pitcher of the Week for all games played from April 24-30. The selection was made by the league office.
 
Jones shined in Samford's key win against Western Carolina on Sunday, allowing just one hit and three walks in five innings of work of the Bulldogs' 7-0, seven-inning victory.
 
The only hit the sophomore from Tallahassee, Florida, surrendered came in the second inning, but that runner was stranded at third after a sacrifice, strikeout and groundout. That was the only runner to reach third base against Jones, who saw two of his walks erased by a double play and a caught-stealing.
 
Jones' only real jam came in the third, when a pair of walks and a fielder's choice put runners at first and second with one out, but he got a line out and a strikeout to end the threat.
 
The weekly award is the first for Jones, a SoCon All-Freshman selection last year.
 
WHAT'S COMING UP NEXT?
Following Tuesday's midweek showdown against UAB, the Samford University baseball team will next be in action this weekend as the Bulldogs remain at home for a huge weekend SoCon series against the red-hot Furman Paladins. The series opener will be held Friday at 6 p.m. (CT) at Joe Lee Griffin Field.
 
Furman has won nine straight SoCon games and is coming off three consecutive series sweeps. The final two games of this weekend's series will be held Saturday at 2 p.m., and Sunday at 1 p.m.
 
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.

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