Box Score
ORLANDO, Fla. -- With one out in the bottom of the ninth inning and a runner on base, Samford held a 7-6 lead over Rice Friday when the Owls' Chace Sarchet homered to right-center field to hand the Bulldogs a heartbreaking 8-7 opening-day loss held at John Euliano Park on the first day of action in the 2018 UCF Tournament.
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Samford (0-1) scored a run in the top of the ninth to take a 7-6 lead over
Rice (1-0). The Bulldogs then brought in senior saves specialist
Wyatt Burns to pitch the bottom half of the frame.
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The Owls' Ford Proctor led off and reached base on a fly ball to right field. Two batters later, Sarchet drove a pitch over the right field wall for the walk-off win. The round-tripper capped a day in which Sarchet scored twice, stole a pair of bases and tallied a pair of RBI.
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Samford's
Burns (0-1) was issued the loss, while Rice's
Kendal Jefferies (1-0) received the win. The Bulldogs'
Cody Shelton started the game and only allowed two earned runs in 4.1 innings of action. Seniors
Josh Rich and
Erin Baldwin, as well as true freshman
Billy Creger also came on in relief for Samford.
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Friday's contest proved to be a back-and-forth affair throughout the first six innings of the contest. The Bulldogs entered the seventh stanza trailing by a run, 4-3.
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In the seventh, Samford used some well-placed bunts, a critical Owl error and a two-run single from sophomore
Anthony Mulrine to take a 7-5 advantage in the contest.
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Mulrine finished the game 3-for-3 at the plate with two home runs, four RBI and three runs scored. He anchored the Bulldogs' offensive attack from the three-hole position, while
Troy Dixon,
Branden Fryman,
Austin Edens and
Taylor Garris also added base hits.
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Junior
Jordan Fucci tallied three walks Friday, while
Ayrton Schafer registered a pair of RBI and Fryman scored two runs.
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The Samford University baseball team will next be in action Saturday at noon (CT) as the Bulldogs continue play in the 2018 UCF Tournament versus the No. 15-ranked Virginia Cavaliers in a marquee early-season matchup to be held at John Euliano Park.
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Box Score
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