Game 1:  Thursday, March 29  |  5:00 PM (CT)  |  Video  |  Audio  |  Live Stats
Game 2:  Friday, March 30  |  3:00 PM (CT)  |  Video  |  Audio  |  Live Stats
Game 3:  Saturday, March 31  |  Noon (CT)  |  Video  |  Audio  |  Live Stats

Game Notes  |  Tickets

GREENVILLE, S.C. -- The Samford University baseball team will compete in its first Southern Conference road series of the 2018 campaign this week, Thursday through Saturday, as the Bulldogs square off against the Furman Paladins in a three-game set to be held at Latham Stadium.
 
The first matchup is slated to begin Thursday at 5 p.m. (CT), with the second game scheduled to start at 3 p.m., Friday. The series finale will be held at noon Saturday.
 
Samford (12-14, 1-2 SoCon) heads into this week's schedule boasting a bit of positive momentum after the Bulldogs rolled to an 8-2 nonconference victory at UAB on Tuesday. In the win, Samford took advantage of an outstanding pitching performance from sophomore left-hander Hamp Skinner in a crosstown-rivalry game held at Regions Field.
 
The Bulldogs received brilliant pitching performances from Skinner, Josh Rich, Jack Rude and Erin Baldwin. Samford didn't allow a single earned run in the contest and only gave up a total of six hits while striking out 12.
 
Skinner turned in his best outing of the season as he registered a career-high 10 strikeouts in 4.2 innings of action. Samford's talented sophomore from Jacksonville, Florida, only allowed three hits in the start.
 
Rich, who proved to be the Bulldogs' pitcher of record in the fifth inning, didn't allow a hit in 0.2 innings of work, while Rude and Baldwin came in late to close out the game and shut the door on the Blazers.
 
Samford jumped out to an early 6-0 lead with two runs in the first and then four more in the second. The Bulldogs later tacked on a pair of insurance runs in the seventh and eighth innings.
 
Offensively, Samford was paced by senior first baseman Austin Edens who finished 2-for-4 at the plate with three RBI. The Bulldogs also received a multi-RBI performance from sophomore shortstop Branden Fryman.
 
Furman (13-12, 0-0 SoCon) enters the series looking to rebound against SoCon competition after dropping its last five games, including a 10-5 verdict to eighth-ranked Clemson on Tuesday at Fluor Field. 
 
Already this season, 10 of the Paladins' 25 games have been played against teams currently ranked in the Top 35 in D1Baseball.com's RPI, including Clemson (No. 5), Wichita State (No. 7), N.C. State (No. 18), College of Charleston (No. 28) and Illinois (No. 34).

Last season, Furman finished 14-10 in league play and in a tie for third place in 2017 under first-year head coach Brett Harker.

The Paladins enter league play hitting .269 as a team and with just 16 home runs on the season.  A year ago the Paladins banged out 69 round trippers in 61 games.

Freshman center fielder Ben Anderson (.368, 3 HR, 21 RBI) leads the squad at the plate, followed by senior designated hitter Jason Costa (.344, 3 HR, 17 RBI), who returned from a three-game absence to go 2-for-4 with a double versus Clemson.
 
THIS WEEK'S PITCHING MATCHUPS
 
SAMFORD'S STARTING ROTATION
Thursday - - RHP, Cody Shelton, Sr. (Brentwood, Tennessee) - - 0-2 (3.60 ERA)
Friday - - LHP, Samuel Strickland, Fr. (Birmingham, Alabama) - - 3-0 (1.61 ERA)
Saturday - - RHP, Stephen Jones, Jr. (Tallahassee, Florida) - - 1-4 (5.02 ERA)
 
FURMAN'S STARTING ROTATION
Thursday - - RHP, Nik Verbeke, Jr. (Cumming, Georgia) - - 3-2 (5.65 ERA)
Friday - - LHP, Grant Schuermann, Jr. (Cincinnati, Ohio) - - 2-4 (5.75 ERA)
Saturday - - LHP, Matt Lazzaro, Fr. (Marietta, Georgia) - - 2-3 (4.91 ERA)
 
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 21-10 overall record against Furman. Last season, the teams squared off in a three-game series in Birmingham, Alabama, but the Paladins proved to be victorious in two of the weekend matchups.
 
All three games in last season's series were close and low-scoring. Furman won the first two games at Joe Lee Griffin Field, 3-2 and 4-1, before Samford earned a hard-fought 4-3 triumph in the third contest.
 
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. Furman was picked to finish sixth in the poll.
 
SAMFORD'S PRESEASON ALL-SOCON HONORS
The Bulldogs' 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, Tennessee, 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's 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, Tennessee, also drove in 38 runs and scored 36 runs.
 
BULLDOGS' MULRINE NAMED TO JOHNNY BENCH AWARD WATCH LIST
Samford's Anthony Mulrine was officially named to the Watch List for the 2018 Johnny Bench Award, it was announced March 7, by the Greater Wichita Area Sports Commission.
 
Samford's talented sophomore catcher from Davie, Florida, owns a .256 batting average this season to go along with five home runs and a team-high 19 RBI. He has already started in 25 games and added 15 runs and 21 walks. Last season, Mulrine earned SoCon All-Freshman Team honors and led the conference in throwing out potential base-stealers with 27.
 
Mulrine is listed among the nation's elite catchers on the Johnny Bench Award Watch List. Joining him on the prestigious listing are Texas A&M's Cole Bedford, Arkansas' Grant Koch, Texas' DJ Petrinsky, Florida State's Cal Raleigh, Louisville's Pat Rumoro, Arizona's Cesar Salazar and Florida's JJ Schwarz, among others.
 
QUICK NOTES
- - - Branden Fryman's father, Travis Fryman, played 13 years in Major League Baseball for the Detroit Tigers and Cleveland Indians. He is currently a hitting instructor for the Cleveland Indians farm system. He also managed the Mahoning Valley Scrappers from 2008 to 2010.
 
- - - Samford's Wyatt Burns is the SoCon's active leader in saves with 23. The Bulldogs' senior closer is also the conference's SoCon's active career leader in earned run average (2.52), lowest opponent batting average (.212) and fewest hits allowed per nine innings (7.12).
 
- - - Two years ago, Samford's Edens powered 19 home runs and finished the year ranked eighth in the nation in the category. The Bulldogs' powerful senior first baseman is the school's all-time home run hitter with 47 and is also ranked first on the NCAA's active career leader's list as well.
 
FILLING SOME FAMILIAR SHOES
Samford junior Troy Dixon has been tasked with filling some big shoes this season. After his older brother, T.J., started for four straight seasons in center field for the Bulldogs and was subsequently drafted in the 24th round by the Minnesota Twins in 2017, Dixon is now filling his spot both in center field and in the lead-off position for Samford this season. Last year, Dixon started at second base for the Bulldogs and batted primarily in the ninth spot.
 
WHAT'S COMING UP NEXT?
Following this week's three-game SoCon road series at Furman, the Samford University baseball team will next be in action Tuesday at 6 p.m. (CT) as the Bulldogs welcome the Alabama State Hornets to Joe Lee Griffin Field for a key in-state showdown.
 
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:  Thursday, March 29  |  5:00 PM (CT)  |  Video  |  Audio  |  Live Stats
Game 2:  Friday, March 30  |  3:00 PM (CT)  |  Video  |  Audio  |  Live Stats
Game 3:  Saturday, March 31  |  Noon (CT)  |  Video  |  Audio  |  Live Stats

Game Notes  |  Tickets