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

Samford Game Notes

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- The Samford University baseball team will begin play in a pivotal Southern Conference three-game home series Saturday at 1 p.m. (CT) as the Bulldogs welcome the red-hot Furman Paladins to Joe Lee Griffin Field for a huge late-season league showdown.
 
The Paladins have won nine straight SoCon games and are coming off three consecutive series sweeps against Western Carolina, ETSU and The Citadel. The final two games of this weekend's series will be held Saturday at 4 p.m., and Sunday at 1 p.m.
 
GETTING STARTED
Samford (26-19, 7-8 SoCon) heads into this weekend's matchup with hopes of winning a seventh straight home series this season. The Bulldogs have been victorious in every series that it has hosted this year and boasts an impressive 16-7 record at The Griff.
 
Last week, Samford took two out of three from Western Carolina and opened its current nine-game home streak with a 3-1 record. Earlier in the week, the Bulldogs earned a decisive 14-4 seven-inning victory over Alabama State.
 
On Tuesday, Samford played host to crosstown-rival UAB, but suffered a tough 9-3 loss in the matchup.
 
THE LAST TIME OUT
Samford lost at home to the UAB Blazers for the first time since April 1, 2009, on Tuesday as the Bulldogs surrendered six heart-wrenching runs in the top of the fourth inning en route to a 9-3 setback in a crosstown-rivalry game held in front of 1,049 rapacious fans at Joe Lee Griffin Field.
 
With the loss, Samford moved to 16-7 when playing at home this season and 8-4 against in-state opponents. Already this year, the Bulldogs have earned victories over No. 4 Auburn, Alabama, UAB, Troy, Alabama State and Alabama A&M.
 
UAB snapped a four-game losing streak versus Samford on Tuesday. The Blazers tallied their first win in the series since May 7, 2014, and their first win at The Griff since April 1, 2009.
 
The Bulldogs jumped out to an early 2-1 lead in the contest with a run in the first inning and then another in the third.
 
UAB then did most of its damage in the top of the fourth inning as the Blazers exploded for six runs on five hits. Thomas Johns opened the stanza with a home run to left-center field before leadoff-man Colton Schultz powered his first homer of the season, a two-run shot, later in the frame. UAB also took advantage of a key Samford error to prolong the inning.
 
The Bulldogs tried to chip away at the Blazers' lead with one run in the bottom of the fifth, but ended up stranding too many runners on base in the contest. Samford finished the game with 12 men left on base. UAB tacked on a pair of runs in the seventh inning to build its decisive 9-3 advantage.
 
Samford's starting pitcher Connor Radcliff turned in a solid outing Tuesday. He only allowed one run on two hits and notched a pair of strikeouts in three full innings of action. Radcliff left the game with a 2-1 advantage.
 
Luke Corbin was saddled with his first loss of the season. He started on the mound in the top of the fourth frame and allowed two earned runs on one hit.
 
JONES NAMED SOCON PITCHER OF THE WEEK
Samford starting pitcher Stephen 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.
 
SCOUTING THE OPPOSITION
Furman (23-21, 10-8 SoCon) enters this weekend's three-game series as the hottest team in the conference. The Paladins have been victorious in nine straight SoCon games and have swept each of their last three series' against Western Carolina, ETSU and The Citadel.
 
All told, Furman has been triumphant in 12 of its last 13 games dating back to April 13. The Paladins' lone loss during the stretch occurred against Gardner-Webb in a nonconference midweek contest held April 26.
 
Since then, Furman swept The Citadel, 4-2, 19-2 and 13-1, before exacting its revenge against Gardner-Webb, 27-10, on Wednesday.
 
The Paladins, in their last 13 games, are outscoring the opposition by a total of 131-56.
 
Interestingly enough, before Furman's current hot streak, the Paladins were defeated in nine straight games and 12-of-13 during a 22-day period.
 
Outfielder Carter Grote leads Furman with a .364 batting average on the season. He also leads the squad in runs (52), triples (5), RBI (46) and total bases (105), while being tied for the team-highs in hits (64) and doubles (13).
 
The Paladins' offense is currently ranked second in the SoCon with an average of .314, as Brandon Elmy (.360), Landon Kay (.351), Dillon Love (.340) and Sky Overton (.339) are also all hitting over .300 this season.
 
SAMFORD'S RECORD VERSUS FURMAN - - THE DUNN ERA
Since Head Coach Casey Dunn took the reins to the Bulldogs' baseball program in 2004, Samford has compiled an impressive 20-8 overall record against Furman. Last season, the teams squared off in a total of four games, with each team proving to be victorious twice.
 
Furman hosted last year's annual three-game weekend series in Greenville, South Carolina, and won the series two games to one. Ultimately, Samford would be get last laugh of the season as the Bulldogs knocked the Paladins out of the SoCon Tournament with a 2-0 victory. With its pitching-duel win, Samford advanced to the semifinal round of the competition.
 
QUICK NOTES OF THE DAY
(1.): On April 25, 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 400-343 all-time record with the Bulldogs.
 
(3.): Samford has outscored its opponents by a total of 68-23 in its last six games en route to a 4-2 record.
 
(4.): Already this season, the Bulldogs own a perfect 20-0 record when leading after six innings, an 19-0 mark when leading after seven, as well as a 20-0 record when leading after eight innings of action.
 
(5.): Samford boasts an 18-3 record this season when scoring at least six runs. The Bulldogs are also 20-3 when they score first and an impressive 8-2 in one-run games.
 
THIS WEEKEND'S PITCHING MATCHUPS
 
SAMFORD'S STARTING ROTATION
Saturday - - DH #1 - - RHP, Cody Shelton, So. (Brentwood, Tennessee) - - 4-1 (1.70 ERA)
Saturday - - DH #2 - - RHP, Mikhail Cazenave, Sr. (Rainbow City, Alabama) - - 3-6 (5.15 ERA)
Sunday - - RHP, Stephen Jones, So. (Tallahassee, Florida) - - 3-3 (4.78 ERA)
 
FURMAN'S STARTING ROTATION
Saturday - - DH #1 - - LHP, Grant Schuermann, So. (Cincinnati, Ohio) - - 4-4 (5.94 ERA)
Saturday - - DH #2 - - RHP, Will Gaddis, Jr. (Brentwood, Tennessee) - - 5-3 (2.23 ERA)
Sunday - - RHP, Matthew Quarles, Sr. (Greenwood, South Carolina) - - 6-2 (4.50 ERA)
 
DID YOU KNOW?
Under the tutelage of 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.
 
SAMFORD'S OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Samford's Ayrton Schafer played a key role in the Bulldogs' 4-1 record last week. Samford's powerful designated hitter from Collierville, Tennessee, finished .500 (7-of-14) from the plate with 10 RBI, seven runs scored and a pair of massive home runs. Schafer also added a .611 on-base percentage, as well as a 1.143 slugging percentage.
 
The Bulldogs' true freshman registered at least one base hit and a run scored in each of Samford's five games, including a dynamic 3-for-3 performance against Alabama State on April 26, when he added five RBI and two runs scored.
 
In Samford's two wins against Western Carolina over the weekend, he proved to be the difference with the biggest hits in each game. On Friday, he provided the clutch three-run homer to put the game out of reach, while he did the same thing Sunday with a two-run triple to right-center field. Schafer also added a double, a stolen base and three walks last week.
 
SAMFORD IN THE NATIONAL RANKINGS
 
Team - - - - -
#32 | Pitching Strikeouts Per Nine Innings (8.9)
#32 | Double Plays Turned (42)
#42 | Fewest Hits Allowed Per Nine Innings (8.24)
#47 | Double Plays Per Game (0.93)
#51 | Hits (441)
#55 | Sacrifice Bunts (32)
#61 | Home Runs (41)
#63 | Batting Average (.289)
#73 | Home Runs Per Game (0.91)
#75 | On-Base Percentage (.376)
#75 | Runs (276)
 
Wyatt Burns - - - - -
#7 | Saves (12)
 
Branden Fryman - - - - -
#15 | Sacrifice Bunts (10)
#33 | Sacrifice Bunts Per Game (0.22)
 
T.J. Dixon - - - - -
#24 | Stolen Bases (19)
#44 | Stolen Bases Per Game (0.42)
 
WHAT'S COMING UP NEXT?
Following this weekend's SoCon home series against Furman, the Samford University baseball team will next be in action Tuesday at 6 p.m. (CT) as the Bulldogs remain at home to play host to in-state rival Alabama in a high-profile nonconference game to be held 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 - - DH #1 - - (Saturday at 1 p.m. CT) - - Tickets  |  Video  |  Audio  |  Live Stats
Game 2 - - DH #2 - - (Saturday at 4 p.m. CT) - - Tickets  |  Video  |  Audio  |  Live Stats
Game 3 (Sunday at 1 p.m. CT) - - Tickets  |  Video  |  Audio  |  Live Stats

Samford Game Notes