Game 1:  Thursday, May 17  |  6:00 PM (CT)  |  Video  |  Live Stats
Game 2:  Friday, May 18  |  4:00 PM (CT)  |  Video  |  Live Stats
Game 3:  Saturday, May 19  |  Noon (CT)  |  Video  |  Live Stats

Tickets  |  Game Notes  |  SoCon Notes

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- The Samford University baseball team will begin play in an important three-game Southern Conference homestand Thursday at 6 p.m. (CT) as the Bulldogs welcome the resurgent VMI Keydets to Joe Lee Griffin Field for a key regular season ending showdown.
 
Samford (30-23, 14-7 SoCon) enters the series with a full head of steam after taking two of three games on the road against Western Carolina over the weekend. The Bulldogs have been victorious in six of their last eight outings and own sole possession of second place in the SoCon standings.
 
With at least one victory this weekend, Samford would secure the No. 2 seed in next week's SoCon Tournament, which will be held May 22-27, at Fluor Field in Greenville, South Carolina. UNCG has already clinched the regular-season title with an 18-3 record.
 
VMI (25-23, 11-10 SoCon) travels to Birmingham with hopes of bouncing back from two straight home losses to Wofford. Over the weekend, VMI defeated the Terriers in the first game, 12-4, but then dropped back-to-back matchups in the series, 8-4 and 12-10, on Saturday and Sunday, respectively.
 
The Keydets head into the weekend as the fourth-place team in the SoCon standings. VMI sits one game ahead of both Mercer and ETSU, as well as two games behind third-place Wofford.
 
Last season, Samford and VMI squared off three times in Lexington, Virginia, and the Bulldogs won two of three games. The Keydets won the first matchup, 4-0, while Samford followed with victories of 2-1 and 9-8.
 
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW . . .
1)  Samford defeated WCU on Sunday, 11-4, and reached the 30-win plateau for a fifth straight season, as well as the eighth time in nine years.
 
2)  On May 1, against UAB, Samford's Austin Edens drove in four RBI and set the school's all-time RBI record with a career total of 184. He surpassed former Bulldog-great Heath Quinn, who closed out his Samford career with 181.
 
3)  On May 4, the Bulldogs' senior closer Wyatt Burns earned his eighth save of the season and set the school's all-time record in the category with 28. Samford's senior right-hander surpassed former Bulldog-great Andres Gracia with 27.
 
4)  This year marks the first time in school history that the Bulldogs registered a 13-game winning streak, followed by a seven-game losing streak.
 
5)  The Bulldogs' 13-game winning streak was their longest in 60 years since opening the 1958 season with a 17-game streak.
 
6)  Samford's 13-game winning streak was its second longest in school history. The Bulldogs closed out the 1957 campaign with 11 straight victories and then opened 1958 with 17 consecutive wins for a school-record, 28-game stretch.
 
7)  Samford was named NCAA Baseball's Team of the Week on April 16, after defeating No. 21
Auburn, as well as a SoCon sweep of Mercer.
 
8)  Since March 27, Samford owns a 19-9 record and is outscoring its opponents by a total of 178-100.
 
9)  Since March 27, the Bulldogs are also out-hitting their opponents, 283-211, which equates to a
.286 - .228 advantage in batting average, including a 23-17 difference in home runs.
 
10)  Samford has defeated two nationally-ranked opponents this season in No. 21 Auburn and No. 22 UCF. The Bulldogs defeated Auburn, 12-3, on April 10, and topped UCF on the road in Orlando, Florida, 5-4, on Feb. 18.
 
11)  This marks the first time that Samford has registered two top-25 wins since 2012.
 
12)  The Bulldogs' pitching staff is ranked in the top 20 in four major categories. Samford is No. 9 in fewest hits allowed per nine innings (7.49), No. 10 in shutouts (6), No. 12 in WHIP (1.21) and No. 20 in strikeout-to-walk ratio (2.73).
 
13)  Samford's ERA of 3.51 is the team's lowest since 2011, when finishing the season with a 3.11 mark. Nine members of Samford's 2011 pitching staff were either drafted or played professionally.
 
14)  Samford is outscoring opponents, 41-19, in the third inning this season. The Bulldogs also own 27-1 record when leading after six innings.
 
THIS WEEK'S PITCHING MATCHUPS
 
SAMFORD'S STARTING ROTATION
Thursday - - RHP, Cody Shelton, Sr. (Brentwood, Tennessee) - - 2-3 (3.36 ERA)
Friday - - LHP, Samuel Strickland, Fr. (Birmingham, Alabama) - - 7-2 (2.05 ERA)
Saturday - - TBA
 
VMI'S STARTING ROTATION
Thursday - - RHP, Josh Winder, Jr. (Richmond, Virginia) - - 5-4 (4.50 ERA)
Friday - - RHP, Zak Kent, So. (Heathsville, Virginia) - - 5-4 (5.64 ERA)
Saturday - - TBA
 
SENIOR DAY PRESENTATION
On Saturday, Samford will hold its annual Senior Day Presentation and will be honoring 11 seniors this season. The Bulldogs' 2018 senior class consists of the following:  Erin Baldwin, Wyatt Burns, Austin Edens, Jake Greer, Matthew "Howie" Howington, Do Jin, Caleb Maggio, Greg Mula, Josh Rich, Cody Shelton and Tristan Widra.
 
WHAT'S COMING UP NEXT?
Following this week's three-game homestand against VMI, the Samford University baseball team will next be in action Wednesday, May 23, as the Bulldogs begin play in the SoCon Tournament to be held at Fluor Field in Greenville, South Carolina.
 
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, May 17  |  6:00 PM (CT)  |  Video  |  Live Stats
Game 2:  Friday, May 18  |  4:00 PM (CT)  |  Video  |  Live Stats
Game 3:  Saturday, May 19  |  Noon (CT)  |  Video  |  Live Stats

Tickets  |  Game Notes  |  SoCon Notes