GAME NOTES: SAMFORD AT MISSISSIPPI STATE
STARKVILLE, Miss. – The Samford baseball team will open play in the NCAA Starkville Regional by taking on the No. 7 national seed Mississippi State Friday at 2 p.m. at Dudy Noble Field/Polk-Dement Stadium.
Samford (35-22) earned its third bid to the NCAA Tournament by winning the Southern Conference Tournament with a dramatic, 8-6 walk-off win over Western Carolina Sunday. Mississippi State has a record of 40-15 after falling to Tennessee, 12-2 in the SEC Tournament last Thursday.
THE RUN DOWN
Opponent: at Mississippi State (40-15, 20-10 SEC)
Dates: June 4, 2021
Site: Starkville, Miss. (Dudy Noble Field/Polk-Dement Stadium)
Time: 2 p.m. CT
Live Stats: Click Here
ESPN3: Click Here
SERIES HISTORY
- Samford and Mississippi State have met 47 previous times, with MSU holding a 37-10 series lead.
- The teams met earlier this season in Starkville, with MSU earning a 10-2 victory.
- The programs have matched up three times in the NCAA Tournament, with Samford winning two of the three postseason contests.
FOCAL POINT
- Samford looks to get its NCAA Regional appearance off to a good start as the Bulldogs take on No. 7 national seed Mississippi State.
BULLDOGS TO WATCH
- Left fielder Towns King was named the Walt Nadzak Most Outstanding Player of the SoCon Tournament last week. King homered in all three of Samford's games, including a two-run home shot to tie the championship game in the bottom of the ninth inning. He has now homered in four of his last five games.
- Samford's starting pitcher for Friday's game will be left-handed pitcher Samuel Strickland. He enters the tournament with a record of 5-3 and an ERA of 5.07. Strickland has recorded 69 strikeouts, while allowing just 14 walks this season.
- Strickland also ranks second in school history with 23 career wins, as the Birmingham, Ala., native, needs one victory to tie current record holder, Josh Martin with 24 career wins.
- Brooks Carlson has been on a hot streak over the last 21 games. In that stretch, Carlson is hitting .420 (37-of-88) with nine doubles, one triple, six home runs and 27 RBIs. In the first round of the SoCon Tournament, Carlson had four hits, including a walk-off home run to give the Bulldogs a 10-8 victory over Mercer.
- First baseman, Sonny DiChiara, has connected on 15 home runs this season, ranking 37th nationally. The Hoover, Ala., native, also ranks 11th in the nation in walks with 47 and 27th in walks per game (0.89).
- Junior, Tyler McManus, currently leads the team in batting average (.335) and RBIs (52) while ranking second in doubles (12) and home runs (11). The Slidell, La., native, also leads the squad in multi-RBI games with 15.
- Max Pinto, a redshirt junior from Miami, Fla., leads the Bulldogs in multi-hit performances, collecting 20 multi-hit games entering the NCAA Starkville Regional. Pinto has posted 13 games with two hits, six with three and one with four.
NEWS & NOTES
- Samford and Mississippi State are no strangers when it comes to NCAA Regional competition, as both teams have met in Samford's two previous NCAA Tournament appearances. In 2012, Samford defeated MSU 5-0 and 3-2, eliminating the maroon Bulldogs in Tallahassee. MSU exacted revenge in the 2018 NCAA Tournament, claiming a 9-8 victory at Florida State in Tallahassee.
- In two of Samford's three games in the Southern Conference Tournament, the Bulldogs won on walk-off home runs. In Thursday's 10-8 win over Mercer, Brooks Carlson hit a two-run home run to win the contest. In Sunday's championship game, Max Pinto bashed a two-run homer to give Samford an 8-6 victory and the tournament title.
- Samford's bats were hot throughout the Southern Conference Tournament, averaging 12.3 runs per game while batting .372 as a team in the three contests. The Bulldogs smashed 14 extra-base hits, including eight home runs, three doubles and three triples.
- The Samford baseball team's Southern Conference Tournament title was the ninth conference championship of the 2020-21 school year for Samford, the most in any one season for the school. The nine titles breaks the previous record of eight set during the 2019-20 season. This season, Samford has won the women's basketball regular season, men's indoor track and field, women's indoor track and field, volleyball regular season, volleyball tournament, women's soccer regular season, men's outdoor track and field, women's outdoor track and field and baseball tournament championships.
- Samford has an all-time record of 3-4 in NCAA Tournament games. The Bulldogs previously played in an NCAA Regional in 2012 and again in 2018. Samford has played the following teams in NCAA Regionals: Florida State (1-2), Mississippi State (2-1) and Oklahoma (0-1).
On Deck
- On Saturday, the Bulldogs will face either VCU or Campbell in day two of the NCAA Regional double-elimination format.
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