BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The Samford baseball team will continue its current road swing with four games away from home this week. Tuesday night, the Bulldogs will play at No. 2 Mississippi State at 6 p.m. The team will then open Southern Conference play at UNCG this weekend. The teams are scheduled to play a doubleheader Friday at 1 p.m. (CT), and a single game Saturday at 12 p.m. (CT).

THE RUN DOWN
Opponents: at No. 2 Mississippi State (13-3, 0-0 SEC), at UNCG (10-5, 0-0 SoCon)
Dates: Mar. 16 and Mar. 19-20, 2021
Site: Starkville, Miss. and Greensboro, N.C.
Time: 6 p.m. CT (Tues.), 1 p.m. CT (DH) (Fri.), 12 p.m. (Sat.)
Broadcasts: Find links at: Baseball Schedule
Live Stats: Find links at: Baseball Schedule

SERIES HISTORY

• Samford and Mississippi State have met 46 previous times, with MSU holding a 36-10 series lead. The teams last met in 2019, with Mississippi State pulling out a 6-4 win at Joe Lee Griffin Field.
• Samford and UNCG have played 35 previous times, with Samford owning a 22-13 advantage in the series.  The squads last faced off in 2019, with Samford sweeping a three-game series at Joe Lee Griffin Field.

 
FOCAL POINT

• The Bulldogs will play at one of the top teams in the country in second-ranked Mississippi State Tuesday night.
• This weekend, Samford will look to get the SoCon season off to a good start with a series at the always tough UNCG Spartans team.

 
BULLDOGS TO WATCH

• Towns King is off to a hot start, leading the team with a .323 batting average.
• Ryan Crockett is hitting .304 and has driven in nine runs so far.
• Blake Bortak is scheduled to start Tuesday night's game on the mound for Samford. He has a 5.23 ERA in six appearances.

 
NEWS & NOTES

• Samford head coach Casey Dunn, already the winningest coach in Samford history, enters the week with 505 career wins, making him the first Samford coach in any sport to win 500 games. Dunn has won four conference titles, and has posted 12 30-win seasons during his 16-plus seasons at Samford.
• Entering this week, Samford junior pitcher Samuel Strickland ranks third in school history in wins. Strickland currently has 20 wins. The current record holder is Josh Martin with 24 career victories.

 
FOLLOW THE BULLDOGS:
For the latest news and information on Samford baseball, visit the official website for Samford Athletics at SamfordSports.com. Fans can also follow the Bulldogs on social media at /SamfordBaseball (Facebook), @SamfordBaseball (Instagram) and @SamfordBaseball (Twitter).