BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The Samford baseball team won a back-and-forth slugfest over Arkansas State, 9-8, in the season opener for both teams Friday evening at Joe Lee Griffin Field.
 
The win was the first as head coach for Tony David. Following the game, David said he was extremely proud of the way his team fought to get that first victory.
 
"I just told the guys there, they had multiple opportunities to roll over," David said. "When it was 3-0 early and they had the bases loaded and Mo (Maurice Hampton) made the great throw right there. And we played a really good defensive game, other than that one inning with several weird balls. And then we got some big hits. We don't need 15 to 18 hits, we need timely hits, and we got some big ones tonight. The student crowd tonight was phenomenal, and they really made a difference in this game."
 
For Samford at the plate, Colton Ledbetter, Towns King and Andrew Bennett each homered. Garrett Howe went 3-for-4 with an RBI. Bennett was 2-for-4 with a double and an RBI to go along with his home run.
 
Timmy Watkins (1-0) earned the win on the mound, pitching 1.2 hitless innings of relief. Carson Hobbs pitched the final inning to pick up the save. Jacob Cravey, Brody Westbrooks and Mason McCormack also saw time on the mound for the Bulldogs.
 
Arkansas State's Cason Tollett and Brandon Hager both homered. Wil French and Jacob Hager had two hits each for the Red Wolves. Brandon Anderson (0-1) pitched 1.0 inning, giving up one run on one hit to take the loss for ASU.
 
Arkansas State scored two runs in the second inning and one run in the third to take a 3-0 lead. Brandon Hager hit a two-run home run for the two runs in the second inning, and Jared Toler drove in the third inning run with a single to score Jacob Hager. French attempted to score on the third-inning play as well, but Samford center fielder Maurice Hampton made an outstanding throw to the plate to keep French from scoring and keep the score at 3-0.
 
Samford closed to within one run with a pair of runs in the bottom of the third inning. Ledbetter homered to right-center field with Howe on base to make the score 3-2.
 
The Bulldogs took the lead for the first time with five runs in the bottom of the fourth inning, making the score 7-3. King and Bennett got things started with back-to-back solo home runs. Hampton scored on a wild pitch, and Stephen Klein then walked with the bases loaded to drive in Howe for the fourth run of the inning. The fourth inning's final run scored when Kaden Dreier walked with the bases loaded, scoring Ledbetter for a four-run Samford lead.
 
Samford added to its lead with a run in the bottom of the fifth inning. Hampton singled to right field to drive in Bennett to make the score 8-3.
 
Arkansas State came back with a run in the sixth inning and four more runs in the seventh inning to knot the score at 8-8. In the sixth inning Tollett homered to left-center field for the Red Wolves' fourth run of the contest. In the seventh inning, Jacob Hager scored when Toler reached on a Samford error. Tollett later reached on another Samford error, allowing French to score. Ben Klutts later scored on a single by Jalon Deshazier. The game-tying run scored when Brandon Hager reached on another Samford error, bringing Toler home to knot the score.
 
Samford retook the lead for good with a run in the bottom of the seventh inning. Howe singled to left-center field to drive in Bennett with the eventual game-winning run, giving the Bulldogs the 9-8 victory.
 
Samford and Arkansas State will continue their three-game series with a game Saturday at 2 p.m. at Joe Lee Griffin Field. Admission to the game is free.


 


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