Baseball To Open Tony David Era With Series Versus Arkansas State This Weekend

Friday, February 18

Birmingham, Ala.

4 PM

Samford University

Arkansas State

Photo by: Chase Cochran | Samford Athletics

Baseball To Open Tony David Era With Series Versus Arkansas State This Weekend

2.16.22 | Baseball

GAME NOTES--SAMFORD VS. ARKANSAS STATE (PDF)
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BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The Samford baseball team is set to open the 2022 season and the Tony David era with a three-game series against Arkansas State this weekend at Joe Lee Griffin Field. The teams are scheduled to play Friday at 4 p.m., Saturday at 2 p.m. and Sunday at 1 p.m.

The series can be seen live on ESPN+ with Blake Gardner and Wyatt Burns calling the action for the first two games, and Curt Bloom and Burns on the call for Sunday's series finale.

Samford and Arkansas State have met six times, with the series tied at 3-3. The teams opened the 2007 season with a series at Joe Lee Griffin Field, with Samford winning two of three games. The squads also played a series at Arkansas State in 2006, with the Red Wolves taking two of the three contests.

Samford returns three position starters and 26 letterwinners from last year's team that posted a record of 35-24 overall and 20-10 in Southern Conference play. The Bulldogs won the SoCon Tournament and reached the NCAA Tournament for the third time in program history.

Will David is Samford's leading returning hitter from last season, posting a .304 batting average with nine doubles, one home run, one triple and 29 RBI.

Towns King returns after being named the SoCon Tournament's Most Outstanding Player last season. For the year, he batted .285 with four doubles, two triples, six home runs and 35 RBI.

Arkansas State returns four position starters and 21 letterwinners from a team that posted a record of 19-30 overall and 10-14 in the Sun Belt Conference last season.

ASU's leading returning hitter is Ben Klutts, who batted .320 with 16 doubles, seven home runs and 28 RBI a season ago.

Samford was picked to finish third by the media and sixth by the coaches in the Southern Conference's preseason polls.

Two Bulldogs received preseason honors from the Southern Conference coaches. Third baseman Will David was named first team preseason All-SoCon, while catcher Kaden Dreier earned second team All-SoCon honors.

Samford is scheduled to start sophomore right-handed pitcher Jacob Cravey (1-2, 3.26 ERA in 2021) in Friday's season opener. The Bulldogs will start left-handed sophomore Blake Bortak (1-1, 5.35 ERA) on Saturday, and junior right-hander Jalon Long (2-2, 6.23 ERA) in Sunday's series finale.

Arkansas State's probable pitching rotation for the weekend is: RHP Carter Holt, LHP Justin Medlin and RHP Tyler Jeans. In 2021, Holt had a 4-3 record and a 5.18 ERA. Jeans was 1-4 with a 7.75 ERA. Medlin pitched for Middle Tennessee last season, posting a 10.57 ERA with no record for MTSU.

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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).