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GREENVILLE, S.C. -- The Samford University baseball team used a pair of brilliant pitching performances from freshman starter Samuel Strickland and senior closer Wyatt Burns on Wednesday as the Bulldogs earned a 4-0 shutout victory against the Furman Paladins in the opening round of play at the Southern Conference Tournament being held at Fluor Field.
 
With the win, Samford (33-24) advanced to face No. 3 Wofford in Thursday's second-round game beginning at 6:30 p.m. (CT). Furman (24-27) will square off against No. 6 seed ETSU in an elimination showdown scheduled to begin at 11:30 a.m.
 
The Bulldogs' Strickland (8-2) tied his career-high with 10 strikeouts Wednesday. A homegrown talent from Birmingham, Alabama, Samford's First-Team All-SoCon member and SoCon Freshman of the Year only allowed two hits in six full innings of action. With his performance, Strickland lowered his miniscule ERA on the season 1.89.
 
Burns entered the contest in the seventh inning and struck out three Paladins in a trio of quick innings for his 11^th save of the season. He holds Samford's all-time saves record with 31.
 
An RBI single by Samford's Ayrton Schafer in the first inning and three runs in the eighth inning proved to be more than enough to lift No. 2 seed Samford to a 4-0 victory over No. 7 seed Furman.
 
With Samford holding a one-run lead with the bases loaded in the eighth inning, freshman Brooks Carlson roped a single to center field to give the Bulldogs a pair of insurance runs. Connor Burns then sent a sacrifice fly to center, scoring Troy Dixon and giving Samford a 4-0 advantage.
 
The Bulldogs wasted no time giving Strickland run support, getting on the board in the first inning. After Carlson reached base by a fielder's choice and advanced to second on a wild pitch, Schafer stepped up to the plate and roped a single to center field to give Samford an early 1-0 lead.
 
Seven different Bulldogs recorded a hit in the win, led by shortstop Branden Fryman who went 3-for-4 with one run scored. Carlson finished with a hit, a run scored and two RBIs for the game.
 
On the mound, Strickland was locked in from the start, striking out the side in the first after the leadoff batter reached base via error. He then struck out a pair of batters in the second, one in the fourth, two in the fifth and two in the sixth before turning the ball over to Burns.
 
The Bulldogs recorded the first shutout in a SoCon baseball tournament game since the 2017 play-in game in which No. 9 VMI defeated No. 8 The Citadel, 8-0.
 
The Paladins' Jason Costa, Brandon Elmy, Landon Kay and Sims Griffith all registered singles. As a team, Furman struck out 13 times and failed to record a walk while stranding five base-runners.
 
Furman starter Grant Schuermann (4-8) took the loss, pitching seven innings while allowing four runs on nine hits.
 
The Samford University baseball team advanced to the second round of the SoCon Tournament where it will face No. 3 Wofford at 6:30 p.m. (CT) on Thursday here at Fluor Field.

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