BOX SCORE (PDF)
LEXINGTON, Va. – The Samford baseball team dropped a 5-4 decision in the series finale at VMI Sunday afternoon at Gray-Minor Stadium.
With the loss, Samford falls to 19-8 overall and 5-1 in Southern Conference play. VMI improves to 6-22 overall and 2-4 in league play. Samford wins the series from the Keydets, two games to one.
FROM THE BOX SCORE
- Taylor Garris went 2-for-4 with a home run and three RBI to lead Samford at the plate.
- Jordan Fucci went 2-for-3 with a home run and one RBI.
- Zach Hester (3-2) pitched 3.1 innings, giving up five runs, just four earned, on nine hits to take the loss on the mound for Samford.
- Josh Hollifield led VMI, going 2-for-4 with a double and two RBI.
- Callen Nuccio went 3-for-3 with two runs scored for the Keydets.
- Zak Kent (3-2) picked up the win for VMI, pitching 8.2 innings, giving up four runs on eight hits and recording 14 strikeouts.
- Corey Johnston earned his first save of the season, tossing the final third of an inning.
SCORING SUMMARY
- VMI took the early lead with a run in the bottom of the first inning. Nuccio scored on a wild pitch to give the Keydets a 1-0 advantage.
- In the bottom of the third inning, VMI added four more runs to push its lead to 5-0. Hollifield drove in two runs, Cody Warner drove in one run, and Hollifield later scored on an error for a five-run VMI lead.
- Samford got on the scoreboard with a run in the top of the sixth inning. Fucci homered to right field to cut the VMI lead to 5-1.
- The Bulldogs came back with three runs in the top of the ninth inning on a three-run home run by Garris to make the final score 5-4.
LOOKING AHEAD
Samford will host a pair of midweek games this week. The Bulldogs will take on UAB Tuesday night at 6 p.m., and North Alabama Wednesday evening, at 6:30 p.m.
