Game 1:  Friday, March 23  |  6:00 p.m. (CT)  |  Video  |  Live Stats  |  Tickets
Game 2:  Saturday, March 24  |  2:00 p.m. (CT)  |  Video  |  Live Stats  |  Tickets
Game 3:  Sunday, March 25  |  1:00 p.m. (CT)  |  Video  |  Live Stats  |  Tickets

Samford Game Notes

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- The Samford University baseball team will begin play in its highly-anticipated Southern Conference schedule Friday at 6 p.m. (CT) as the Bulldogs open a three-game home series against the ETSU Buccaneers to be held at Joe Lee Griffin Field.
 
Following Friday's series-opening contest, the teams are also slated to play Saturday at 2 p.m., and Sunday at 1 p.m.
 
Samford (10-12) enters SoCon play as having been victorious in three of its last four outings. Last week, the Bulldogs registered a three-game sweep of Alabama A&M, but then dropped a midweek contest on the road against Troy on Tuesday.
 
Samford owns an 8-6 record at home this season and has earned victories held at Joe Lee Griffin Field against Jacksonville State, Harvard, Austin Peay and Alabama A&M.
 
ETSU (11-6) heads into conference action having won seven of its last nine games, including a 9-6 victory at Tennessee on Tuesday. For the second time in two tries, ETSU defeated Tennessee in Knoxville, Tennessee, by taking a late lead. After scoring four ninth-inning runs to win 10-9 the first time around, the Bucs exploded in the seventh with four runs to take a 9-6 lead.
 
Last weekend against William & Mary, ETSU's starting pitchers Micah Kaczor, Ryan Simpler and Russell Koesters each went at least six innings with one earned run or less allowed for quality starts. The Buccaneers lost the first game, 1-0, but then bounced back to take game two, 3-2. William & Mary then earned a 3-2 victory in the rubber game to take the series.
 
SAMFORD'S STARTING ROTATION
Friday - - RHP, Cody Shelton, Sr. (Brentwood, Tennessee) - - 0-2 (2.96 ERA)
Saturday - - LHP, Samuel Strickland, Fr. (Birmingham, Alabama) - - 2-0 (1.25 ERA)
Sunday - - RHP, Stephen Jones, Jr. (Tallahassee, Florida) - - 1-3 (5.18 ERA)
 
ETSU'S STARTING ROTATION
Friday - - RHP, Micah Kaczor, Jr. (Tampa, Florida) - - 2-1 (4.45 ERA)
Saturday - - RHP, Ryan Simpler, Jr. (Lewes, Delaware) - - 2-2 (4.60 ERA)
Sunday - - RHP, Russell Koesters, Sr. (Kingsport, Tennessee) - - 0-0 (5.21 ERA)
 
SAMFORD vs. ETSU - - THE ALL-TIME SERIES
In 12 all-time games between the teams, ETSU currently leads the series by a slight margin of 7-5. The first meeting occurred in 2005 as the Bucs outscored Samford, 11-6, in a nonconference contest held in Johnson City, Tennessee. All of the other games have been held in conference action.
 
The Bulldogs have met ETSU in the SoCon Tournament in back-to-back years, eliminating each other in consecutive seasons. Samford knocked out the Bucs in 2016 with a 12-11 decision. Last year, ETSU tallied a 16-6 win in Greenville, South Carolina.
 
The Bulldogs finished 1-3 against ETSU last season. Samford won the first meeting between the teams, 6-3, but then lost in the final three outings 10-8, 7-6 and 16-6.
 
SAMFORD PICKED TO FINISH THIRD IN SOCON
Samford was predicted to finish third in the SoCon preseason standings by both the coaches and media as the league headquarters officially released the annual picks. In the coaches' vote, Samford received 43 points and came in third place behind UNCG and Mercer, which both finished tied for first place with 58 points apiece.
 
On the media side, the Bulldogs' 82 points placed third again behind Mercer and UNCG. Mercer garnered the first-place spot with 119 points, while UNCG followed with 114.
 
SAMFORD'S PRESEASON ALL-SOCON HONORS
The Bulldogs' Cody Shelton was tabbed as a First-Team All-SoCon member prior to the start of the season, while Wyatt Burns, Troy Dixon and Aryton Schafer all headlined the second team.
 
Shelton, the Bulldogs' junior starting pitcher, received First-Team All-SoCon preseason honors after finishing the 2017 campaign with a 5-3 record and a 2.69 earned run average. Samford's talented right-hander from Brentwood, Tenn., accumulated 59 strikeouts last season and only allowed a total of 19 earned runs.
 
Burns received Second-Team All-SoCon preseason accolades for a second straight year. The Bulldogs' talented senior reliever finished the 2017 campaign with 12 saves, 44 strikeouts and only 12 earned runs. Burns registered a team-high 28 appearances last season, posted a brilliant 5-1 record and concluded the year with a 2.25 earned run average.
 
Samford Dixon and Schafer also received Second-Team All-SoCon honors. Dixon, a junior this season, registered a .313 batting average in 2017 and added 33 runs and 31 RBI. Schafer, who completed a breakout freshman campaign last season, batted .331 and hammered 11 home runs. The Bulldogs' power hitter from Collierville, Tenn., also drove in 38 runs and scored 36 runs.
 
SAMFORD IN THE 2018 NATIONAL RANKINGS
 
Team - - - - -
#35 | Fewest Hits Allowed Per Nine Innings (7.47)
#44 | Pitching Strikeouts Per Nine Innings (9.6)
#46 | Times Hit By Pitch (28)
#68 | WHIP (1.33)
#82 | Stolen Bases (24)
#85 | Shutouts (1)
 
Troy Dixon - - - - -
#10 | Base On Balls (21)
#30 | Base On Balls Per Game (0.95)
 
Stephen Jones - - - - -
#11 | Games Started (5)
 
Cody Shelton - - - - -
#11 | Games Started (5)
 
Anthony Mulrine - - - - -
#13 | Hit By Pitch (9)
#30 | Hit By Pitch Per Game (0.43)
 
Erin Baldwin - - - - -
#13 | Pitching Appearances (12)
 
Josh Rich - - - - -
#13 | Pitching Appearances (12)
 
EDENS IN THE RECORD BOOK
Samford's Austin Edens, who is the school's all-time home run leader with 46 round-trippers, is already one of the most decorated players in school history. He is currently ranked among the top five hitters in a number of statistical categories, including home runs, RBI, total bases and doubles.
 
ALL-TIME HOME RUNS
1. Austin Edens (2015 - current), 46
2. Heath Quinn (2014-16), 44
 
ALL-TIME RUNS BATTED IN
1. Heath Quinn (2014-16), 181
2. Austin Edens (2015 - current), 159
 
ALL-TIME TOTAL BASES
1. Heath Quinn (2014-16), 425
2. Austin Edens (2015 - current), 412
 
ALL-TIME DOUBLES
1. Bear Burnett (2005-08), 52
2. Heath Quinn (2014-16), 48
3. Phillip Ervin (2011-13), 47
4. Hunter Swilling (2014-16), 46
5. Austin Edens (2015 - current), 42
 
BULLDOGS DEFEAT #22 UCF
Samford's victory over No. 22-ranked UCF on Feb. 18, proved to be its first win over a top-25 ranked opponent since June 6, 2012, when the Bulldogs defeated No. 17 Mississippi State, 3-2, for the second time in two days and knocked the Bulldogs out of the Florida State Regional in the NCAA Tournament.
 
WHAT'S COMING UP NEXT?
Following this weekend's SoCon-opening home series against ETSU, the Samford University baseball team will next be in action Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. (CT) as the Bulldogs square off against crosstown-rival
UAB in a key midweek contest to be held at Regions 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:  Friday, March 23  |  6:00 p.m. (CT)  |  Video  |  Live Stats  |  Tickets
Game 2:  Saturday, March 24  |  2:00 p.m. (CT)  |  Video  |  Live Stats  |  Tickets
Game 3:  Sunday, March 25  |  1:00 p.m. (CT)  |  Video  |  Live Stats  |  Tickets

Samford Game Notes