ORLANDO, Fla. – The Samford University baseball team fell at UCF, 11-1 in seven innings in the final game of a three-game series Sunday afternoon at John Euliano Park.
With Samford's wins in the first two games of the series, the Bulldogs take the series victory, two games to one. Samford falls to 12-9 overall, while UCF improves to 14-10 with the win.
UCF held a narrow 3-1 lead going into the bottom of the seventh inning, but the Knights plated eight runs in the inning to make the score 11-1 and end the game due to the 10-run rule. The Bulldogs defeated the Knights in the first two games by scores of 4-3 (10 inn.) and 7-6.
For Samford in the loss,
Kaden Dreier drove in a run, going 1-for-3 at the plate.
Jalon Long (2-2) pitched 4.1 innings, giving up two runs on four hits and recording five strikeouts to take the loss on the mound for the Bulldogs.
UCF was led by Noah Orlando, going 2-for-4 with a home run and two RBI. Connor Staine (3-0) pitched 2.0 innings, allowing no runs on one hit to pick up the win for the Knights.
UCF got off to a hot start when Orlando hit a solo home run to right field in the bottom of the first inning for a 1-0 lead. Samford tied the game in the top of the fourth inning when Dreier singled to drive in
Stephen Klein to knot the score at 1-1.
In the bottom of the fifth inning, UCF took the lead again when Pablo Ruiz scored on a sacrifice fly by Alex Freeland to make the score 2-1. In the bottom of the sixth inning, UCF's Ryan Taylor reached on an infield single to drive in Andrew Sundean for a 3-1 Knight lead. The score stayed at 3-1 until the Knights broke the game open with eight runs in the seventh inning, ending the game with an 11-1 UCF win.
Samford will host cross-town rival UAB on Tuesday, March 29. The game is set for a 6 p.m. start from Joe Lee Griffin Field.
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