BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The Samford baseball team dropped the final two game of its series with Memphis Sunday, falling 8-5 in a suspended game from Friday evening that was resumed Sunday, and dropping the final game by a score of 14-3.
 
With the losses, Samford falls to 7-7 on the season. Memphis improves to 9-4 with the wins.
 
"Obviously a brutal weekend for us," Samford head coach Tony David said. "We have been incredible on the young season finishing games and won all the 'go either way' games late before this weekend. The guys did a great job battling back late to tie the first two games up with the winning run on second late in both games. Klein hit a laser right at the second baseman (in Sunday's first game)."
 
In the first game of the day, a seven-inning game that picked up in the sixth inning with the score tied at 5-5, Will David went 2-for-3 with an RBI to lead Samford at the plate. Carson Hobbs (1-1) pitched 1.0 inning in relief, giving up three runs on two hits to take the loss.
 
"Our starters have been really consistent on the mound, and we had a couple with tough outings," David said. "Jalon (Long) has been dominant for us and ran into a ton of bad luck and soft contact in their big inning. We will get back to work this week and get better. Conference play is still a few weeks away for us and we need to be playing our best ball when we get there."
 
For Memphis, Ben Brooks went 3-for-4 with three RBI. Blake Wimberley (1-1) tossed the final 3.1 innings, allowing one run on five hits to earn the win for the Tigers.
 
Most of the scoring was done in the first five innings, which were played Friday night. After Memphis scored a run in the top of the first inning, Samford came back with three runs in the bottom of the first to take a 3-1 lead. Memphis scored two runs in the second inning and two more in the third for a 5-3 advantage. Samford scored a run in the fourth inning and another in the fifth to knot the score at 5-5.
 
The game was suspended in the bottom of the sixth inning with two outs and Samford having a runner on first base. The Bulldogs were unable to push a run across, and Memphis scored three runs in the top of the seventh inning to take the 8-5 win.
 
In the final game, Garrett Howe went 1-for-3 with a home run and three RBI for Samford. Jalon Long (2-1) took the loss on the mound, tossing 4.0 innings, allowing seven runs on seven hits.
 
For Memphis, Blake Daniels, Taylor Howell, Logan Kohler and Chris Swanberg each homered in the final game. Landon Gartman (2-0) pitched 7.0 innings, giving up three runs on two hits to earn the win for Memphis.
 
After Memphis plated five runs in the top of the third inning, Samford answered with three runs in the bottom of the inning to cut the lead to 5-3. All three runs came on a home run by Howe to right field. Memphis then took control of the game with two runs in the fourth inning, three runs in the fifth inning and two runs in the sixth inning for a 12-3 Tiger lead. Memphis plated two final runs in the top of the eighth inning to make the score 14-3, and the game was called after eight innings due to the run rule.
 
Samford will play at in-state rival Troy on Tuesday, March 15. The first pitch is set for 6 p.m. from Troy's Riddle-Pace Field.
 
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