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TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- The Samford University baseball team will open play in the 2018 NCAA Tournament on Friday at 6 p.m. (CT) against the regional-host Florida State Seminoles in a first-round matchup to be held at Dick Howser Stadium.
 
The talent-laden, four-team regional will also include No. 2-seed Mississippi State (31-25) and No. 3 Oklahoma (36-23). Florida State (43-17), which is the top-seeded team in the regional, is also the No. 7 national seed in the tournament.
 
Samford (36-24) earned an automatic bid to the 64-team postseason competition after rolling through the Southern Conference Tournament. The Bulldogs finished the nine-team event with a 4-0 record after defeating Furman, 4-0, Wofford, 5-2, and Mercer twice, 10-3 in game one and 14-4 (7) in the championship game.
 
This marks the second time Samford has earned a bid to the NCAA Tournament and the first since 2012. In 2012, the Bulldogs were also sent to the Tallahassee Regional, where Mississippi State and Florida State were also present. The fourth team in the regional that season was UAB.
 
Mississippi State proved to be the second-seeded team in 2012 and Samford defeated the No. 17-ranked Bulldogs in the opener, 5-0. Samford, the No. 3 seed that season, then went on to knock Mississippi State out of the regional on day two with a 3-2 victory.
 
Both of Samford's losses in 2012 came against No. 3-ranked Florida State, 8-1, and 5-2.
 

At this year's SoCon Tournament, the Bulldogs' Brooks Carlson earned the Walt Nazdak Most Outstanding Player award, going 3-for-4 with two RBIs and one run scored in win. Samford led the way with four all-tournament members in the following:  Samuel Strickland (starting pitcher), Wyatt Burns (relief pitcher), Anthony Mulrine (catcher) and Carlson (designated hitter).
 
Samford's Kyle Stuart earned the Pinnacle Award, which is given to the student-athlete with the highest GPA from the championship team.
 
Florida State is one of only seven sites that is a repeat host from last season (Chapel Hill, Clemson, Fayetteville, Gainesville, Lubbock, Stanford, Tallahassee), is one of only three sites in the state of Florida (Deland, Gainesville, Tallahassee) and is one of only four host sites from the Atlantic Coast Conference (Chapel Hill, Clemson, Raleigh and Tallahassee).
 
The Seminoles, who won their eighth ACC Championship on Sunday with an 11-8 win over No. 25 ranked Louisville, finished with a 4-0 record in the ACC Tournament. They earned wins over Virginia, NC State, Clemson and Louisville to win the championship.
 
SAMFORD'S NCAA TOURNAMENT RESULTS
June 1, 2012 - - Def. #17 Mississippi State, 5-0
June 2, 2012 - - Lost at #3 Florida State, 8-1
June 3, 2012 - - Def. #17 Mississippi State, 3-2
June 3, 2012 - - Lost at #3 Florida State, 5-2
 
QUICK NOTES ABOUT THE BULLDOGS
1) During the 2018 SoCon Tournament, Samford outscored its opponents by a total of 33-9. The Bulldogs also finished with a team batting average of .326, while their opponents posted a mark of .223.
 
2) Samford's pitching staff turned in an ERA of 1.59 in the SoCon Tourney. Conversely, the Bulldogs' opponents finished with an ERA of 8.33.
 
3) Samford has reached the 30-win plateau for a fifth straight season, as well as the eighth time in nine years.
 
4) The Bulldogs' 36 victories is the team's highest total since 2012 when they reached the NCAA Tournament for the first time in school history and competed in the Tallahassee Regional against Mississippi State and Florida State.
 
5) Since March 27, Samford owns a 25-10 record and is outscoring its foes by a total of 232-125.
 
6) Since March 27, the Bulldogs are also out-hitting their opponents, 355-267, which equates to a .291 - .230 advantage in batting average.
 
7) Samford has defeated two nationally-ranked opponents this season in No. 21 Auburn and No. 22 UCF.
 
8) This marks the first time that Samford has registered two top-25 wins since 2012, when the Bulldogs defeated No. 17 Mississippi State twice in the Tallahassee Regional of the NCAA Tournament.
 
9) The Bulldogs' pitching staff is nationally ranked in the top 30 in six major categories. Samford is No. 6 in shutouts (7), No. 10 in WHIP (1.21), No. 12 in fewest hits allowed per nine innings (7.58), No. 17 in strikeout-to-walk ratio (2.78), No. 26 in strikeouts per nine innings (9.3) and No. 27 in earned run average (3.49).
 
10) Samford's ERA of 3.48 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.
 
11) Samford is outscoring opponents, 47-21, in the third inning this season. The Bulldogs also own 33-1 record when leading after six innings.
 
SAMFORD IN THE 2018 NCAA STATISTICAL RANKINGS
 
Team - - - - -
#6 | Shutouts (7)
#10 | WHIP (1.21)
#12 | Fewest Hits Allowed Per Nine Innings (7.58)
#17 | Strikeout-to-Walk Ratio (2.78)
#26 | Pitching Strikeouts Per Nine Innings (9.3)
#27 | ERA (3.48)
#42 | Fewest Walks Allowed Per Nine Innings (3.34)
#53 | Times Hit By Pitch (71)
#54 | Hits (551)
#75 | Sacrifice Bunts (34)
#78 | Won-Loss Percentage (.600)
#79 | Stolen Bases (67)
#93 | Runs (339)
 

Samuel Strickland - - - - -
#3 | WHIP (0.80)
#7 | Fewest Hits Allowed Per Nine Innings (5.42)
#18 | Earned Run Average (1.89)
#35 | Strikeout-To-Walk Ratio (5.47)
 
Cody Shelton - - - - -
#16 | Games Started (15)
 
Wyatt Burns - - - - -
#22 | Saves (12)
 
Branden Fryman - - - - -
#33 | Stolen Bases (25)
 
Josh Rich - - - - -
#36 | Pitching Appearances (30)
 
Anthony Mulrine - - - - -
#45 | Times Hit By Pitch (16)
 
BULLDOGS TAKE MISSION TRIP TO DOMINICAN REPUBLIC
In October, the Samford baseball team raised its own funds and participated in a special mission trip to the Dominican Republic over fall break. The Bulldogs spent five days on the trip and visited orphanages, distributed food, helped construct houses and ministered to young children, while teaching them more about the great game of baseball.
 
TICKET INFORMATION
The price for the pass will be $55 for a reserved seat and $40 for a general admission seat. You will be able to pick your own seat on Seminoles.com, however you will not be allowed to leave a single seat.
 
Single-game tickets to Friday's games will on sale Friday at 8 a.m. (ET). Single-game ticket prices are $18 for reserved seats (depending on availability) and $12 for adults and $8 for youth (ages 2 to 18), children under the age of two are FREE. 
 
Tickets for next day's single game tickets on sale after the conclusion of the previous day's games, once the opponents and times have been announced.
 
There will be 200 tickets blocked off for Samford fans.
 
The game day box office is located at Dick Howser Stadium and will open two hours prior to the first scheduled pitch of the day. Please visit http://seminoles.com/fsu-clear-bag-policy/ regarding the Clear Bag Policy for Dick Howser Stadium, which will be in effect for this post-season event.
 
WHAT'S COMING UP NEXT?
The winner of this weekend's Tallahassee NCAA Regional will advance to face the winner of the Clemson NCAA Regional in a best-of-three Super Regional showdown to be hosted by the higher-seeded team.
 
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.

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