OXFORD, Miss. – The Samford Baseball team took part in its first fall scrimmage on Saturday, Oct. 8 at defending national champions Ole Miss.
 
The Bulldogs and Rebels played a total of 12 innings, divided up into a pair of six-inning scrimmages. Ole Miss came out on top 4-1 in the first six innings and 8-3 in the second six-inning scrimmage.
 
"It was important for us to get as many of our guys in there as we could," Head Coach Tony David said. "We made wholesale changes at that halfway mark and went with six true freshmen for the final six innings. They kept several of their older veteran guys in there the entire time, which suited their needs. I am ecstatic with how our young guys competed at the plate. They battled against a lot of arms with high velocity and made a lot of plays in the infield for us."
 
Freshman Jayden Davis and senior first baseman Stephen Klein both posted a multi-hit performance for the Bulldogs on Saturday. Junior utility man Blake Bortak, freshman outfielder Aaron Walton, and Davis all drove in a run while Garrett Staton slugged an RBI double.
 
The Bulldogs used 11 pitchers total on the day, including returning weekend starters Jacob Cravey and Michael Ross who each tossed two innings. Ross did not allow a run over his pair of frames while Cole Fryman, Carson Hobbs, Gene Hurst, Ben Petschke, and Turner Thompson all logged a scoreless inning of action.
 
"We wanted to extend our weekend starters a little," David said. "They had been shut down after successful summer ball stints. Overall, I'm very happy with how the staff performed. Coach Shrout has done a great job of developing our pitchers. We had 10 clean innings but also had a couple we'd like to have back. It was great to get Hurst back out there against an opponent because he is a difference maker for us at the backend of games."
 
With the Bulldogs over two weeks into their fall slate, Coach David expressed overall happiness with Saturday's performance.
 
"At this point there should be a lot to clean up and make better and there is," David said. "We really just had the one tough inning on the mound and in the field where we didn't make some plays that we should have. I love the way these guys competed and settled in as the game went on. Going forward, we will have a better understanding of individual preparation for our guys. We're super excited about what lies ahead for this season."
 
The Bulldogs will be back in action for their final fall scrimmage on Sunday, Oct. 23 at Vanderbilt. Admission to the contest will be free, with first pitch from Hawkins Field set for 1:00 p.m. (CST)
 
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