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OXFORD, Ala. -- The Samford University baseball team will be competing in its final nonconference contest of the 2018 regular season Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. (CT) as the Bulldogs square off against the Jacksonville State Gamecocks in an in-state matchup to be held at Choccolocco Park.
 
Samford (27-22) enters the contest with a full head of steam after going 3-1 last week in games against UAB and Wofford. The Bulldogs secured their season sweep of UAB on Tuesday with a 7-5 home victory, before closing out its seven-game homestand with a series win against Southern Conference-rival Wofford over the weekend.
 
The Bulldogs defeated the Terriers in the first and last games of the series, 4-2 and 4-3, while dropping the middle matchup, 6-4, in 12 innings. Samford owns a 12-6 record in SoCon play this season and currently holds sole possession of second place in the conference standings.
 
On Wednesday, the Bulldogs will look to snap a four-game losing streak on the road. Since winning eight straight away contests against UAB, Furman, The Citadel and Alabama, Samford was swept at UNCG in a three-game series, then fell at No. 19 Auburn on April 24, 7-2.
 
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW . . .
1) 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.
 
2) On Friday, 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.
 
3) Samford owns a 9-5 record against in-state opponents this season.
 
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 finishing the week with a 12-3 victory against No. 21-ranked Auburn, as well as a SoCon sweep of Mercer.
 
8) Since March 27, Samford owns a 16-8 record and is outscoring its opponents by a total of 144-78.
 
9) Since March 27, the Bulldogs are also out-hitting their opponents, 237-174, which equates to a .282 - .221 advantage in batting average, including an 18-9 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 nationally ranked in the top 30 in four major categories. Samford is No. 8 in shutouts (6), No. 8 in fewest hits allowed per nine innings (7.33), No. 11 in WHIP (1.20) and No. 24 in ERA (3.36).
 
13) Samford's ERA of 3.36 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, 40-17, in the third inning this season. The Bulldogs also own 24-1 record when leading after six innings.
 
SCOUTING THE OPPOSITION
Jacksonville State (24-20) is coming off a tough 24-12 road loss at Morehead State on Sunday. The Gamecocks are 2-6 in their last eight games and own a 14-10 record when playing at Choccolocco Park this season.
 
In its series finale at Morehead State, Jacksonville State's Clayton Daniel took ownership of the school's all-time career doubles mark and moved into second place all-time in career hits in the Ohio Valley Conference.

A pair of Gamecocks now rank 1-2 on the league's career hits chart as former Gamecock Bert Smith is the OVC's all-time leader in career hits with 323 and Daniel slid in to the No. 2 spot on the chart in JSU's 24-12 loss to the Eagles in the rubber game of the series. Daniel, with 308 career hits, now stands 16 hits shy of surpassing Smith's hits total.

The senior infielder collected six doubles in the three-game set to surpass former Gamecock Sam Eberle's mark of 62 doubles in a career. Eberle played at Jacksonville State from 2009-12.
 
Daniel is near the top spot on the OVC's career double mark as Southeast Missouri's Jeremy Johnson has held the record of 65 career doubles since the 2000 baseball campaign. He posted three doubles on the day and has accumulated 64 career doubles. 

Daniel finished 4-for-6 on the day and finished the weekend 8-for-14 and reached base 20 times.
 
SAMFORD IN THE 2018 NCAA STATISTICAL RANKINGS
 
Team - - - - -
#8 | Shutouts (6)
#8 | Fewest Hits Allowed Per Nine Innings (7.33)
#11 | WHIP (1.20)
#28 | Strikeout-to-Walk Ratio (2.64)
#34 | Pitching Strikeouts Per Nine Innings (9.2)
#60 | Fewest Walks Allowed Per Nine Innings (3.50)
#73 | Sacrifice Bunts (29)
#82 | Times Hit By Pitch (54)
#94 | Hits (433)
 
Cody Shelton - - - - -
#13 | Games Started (12)
 
Samuel Strickland - - - - -
#18 | WHIP (0.88)
#24 | Fewest Hits Allowed Per Nine Innings (5.87)
#46 | Earned Run Average (2.20)
 
Josh Rich - - - - -
#18 | Pitching Appearances (26)
 
Wyatt Burns - - - - -
#48 | Saves (8)
 
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.
 
BULLDOGS DEFEAT #21 AUBURN & #22 UCF THIS SEASON
Samford has already 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. This marks the first time that Samford has registered two top-25 wins since 2012.
 
WHAT'S COMING UP NEXT?
Following Wednesday's final nonconference game of the regular season, the Samford University baseball team will next be in action Friday at 5 p.m. (CT) as the Bulldogs travel to Cullowhee, North Carolina, for a critical late-season SoCon series against the Western Carolina Catamounts.
 
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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