Troy at Samford  |  Tuesday, March 6  |  6:00 PM (CT)  |  Video  |  Live Stats  |  Tickets
Austin Peay at Samford  |  Wednesday, March 7  |  6:00 PM (CT)  |  Video  |  Live Stats

Samford Baseball Game Notes

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- The Samford University baseball team will begin play in a five-game homestand Tuesday at 6 p.m. (CT) as the Bulldogs welcome the Troy Trojans to Joe Lee Griffin Field for a key early-season, in-state showdown.
 
Samford (6-6) heads into the matchup with a bit of positive momentum after earning a 2-1 road victory at Kennesaw State on Sunday. In the win, the Bulldogs' pitchers Samuel Strickland, Josh Rich, Erin Baldwin and Wyatt Burns combined to only allow one run on two hits in the nonconference triumph held at Stillwell Stadium.
 
Samford entered the bottom of the ninth inning leading 2-0 and with a no-hitter in tow. The Bulldogs' Strickland started the contest and continued his dominance on the mound by hurling six full innings of no-hit baseball. Samford's talented true freshman from Birmingham, Alabama, also accumulated 10 strikeouts.
 
For his efforts, Strickland was honored for a second straight week Monday as he was named the Southern Conference Pitcher of the Week. Strickland has now thrown 13 innings without allowing a run and has struck out 19 batters, allowing just two hits in his last two starts. 
 
Troy (7-5) enters Tuesday's game riding the positive momentum of a series victory against Tennessee Tech at home over the weekend. The Trojans won the first game of the set, 10-7, and then clinched the series Sunday with a 13-12 triumph. Troy lost its second matchup with the Golden Eagles by a score of 10-6 on Saturday.
 
The Trojans' Joey Denison drove in 10 runs in the series, including a six-RBI night in the opener – a career-high and the most in a game by a Troy player since David Hall in 2014. Denison currently ranks 12th nationally with 19 runs driven in on the season and 24th in RBI per game (1.58).
 
Austin Peay (8-3) will play on the road at Ole Miss Tuesday before traveling to Birmingham to face Samford on Wednesday at 6 p.m. The Governors and Bulldogs are old Ohio Valley Conference foes and will be squaring off against each other for the first time since 2015 when Samford earned a 2-1 victory in the home series held at Joe Lee Griffin Field.
 
Austin Peay, off to its third-best start in program history, heads into the week looking to rebound from an 11-5 home loss to Indiana State on Sunday. Despite the setback, the Governors won the three-game series 2-1 with triumphs of 15-8 and 8-7.
 
TUESDAY NIGHT'S PITCHING MATCHUP
Samford - - - #39 LHP Hamp Skinner (2-0, 4.22 ERA - - - Sophomore, Jacksonville, Fla.)
Troy - - - #10 RHP Rush Hixon (1-1, 4.50 ERA - - - Junior, Banks, Ala.)
 
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), 409
 
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
 
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 22 players selected in the MLB Draft over the last seven years.
 
WHAT'S COMING UP NEXT?
Following Samford's home midweek games against Troy (7-5) on Tuesday and Austin Peay (8-3) on Wednesday, the Bulldogs will continue their five-game homestand this weekend as they welcome the Georgia State Panthers to Joe Lee Griffin Field for a three-day set to be held Friday through Sunday. The games are slated for 6 p.m., 2 p.m., and 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.

Troy at Samford  |  Tuesday, March 6  |  6:00 PM (CT)  |  Video  |  Live Stats  |  Tickets
Austin Peay at Samford  |  Wednesday, March 7  |  6:00 PM (CT)  |  Video  |  Live Stats

Samford Baseball Game Notes