CULLOWHEE, N.C. – Samford sophomore outfielder Colton Ledbetter hit a pair of three-run home runs and drove in nine runs to lead the Bulldog baseball team to a 17-6 win in the final game of a three-game series at Western Carolina Saturday afternoon at Hennon Stadium.
 
"This was a really big series win for our guys against a really veteran team," Samford head coach Tony David said. "As I told the team, this is just our second series win here. This is a tough place to play and a tough surface to play on."
 
Ledbetter's nine RBI are the most ever for a Samford player against a Southern Conference opponent. Samford improves to 17-16 overall and 4-2 in Southern Conference play. The Bulldogs take the series from the Catamounts, two games to one. Western Carolina falls to 15-20 overall and 1-5 in league play.
 
Ledbetter went 3-for-4 with two home runs and nine RBI to lead Samford at the plate. Blake Bortak drove in four runs, going 2-for-2 offensively. Garrett Staton had two hits and two RBI, while Maurice Hampton Jr. had two hits and one RBI. Towns King went 3-for-6 for the Bulldogs.
 
"The story for the weekend was our bats," David said. "Late in game one, we strung together a lot of good at bats. We still lost but got into their bullpen. There is no doubt that affected the next two games."
 
Jalon Long started the game on the mound for Samford and pitched 4.1 innings, allowing two unearned runs on one hit. Alex Goff (4-1) earned the win, tossing 1.2 innings, giving up three unearned runs. Carson Hobbs picked up his sixth save of the season, pitching 3.0 innings, allowing just one run.
 
"Jalon was great for us today," David said. "He pitched his tail off and then hit the wall a little. Pitching on one less day's rest adds up. Goff is a strike thrower but had a tough day. Hobbs filled it up the last three innings."
 
For Western Carolina, Daniel Walsh went 2-for-5 with three RBI at the plate. Zabby Matthews (1-6) took the loss for the Catamounts, tossing 5.0 innings, giving up six runs on nine hits.
 
Samford got on the scoreboard first with a run in the top of the second inning. Staton singled to left field to drive in Andrew Bennett for an early 1-0 Samford lead.
 
In the top of the third inning, Samford added two more runs. Ledbetter singled to left field to drive in Stephen Klein and King for a 3-0 Bulldog advantage.
 
Samford doubled its lead to 6-0 with three runs in the top of the fifth inning. Ledbetter hit a three-run home run to right field with Kaden Dreier and Will David on base for a six-run Samford lead.
 
Western Carolina plated four runs in the fifth inning and one run in the sixth to cut the lead to 6-5. In the fifth inning most of the damage was done on a three-run triple by Walsh. In the sixth inning, Nate Stocum scored on a wild pitch to bring the Catamounts to within one run.
 
Samford answered in the top of the seventh with Ledbetter's second three-run home run of the game. This homer, with Dreier and Klein on base, pushed the Samford lead to 9-5.
 
The Bulldogs added five runs in the eighth inning to make the score 14-5. Bortak drove in two runs, while Staton, Hampton and Dreier drove in a run each as Samford pushed its lead to nine runs.
 
In the ninth inning, Bortak drove in two runs and Ledbetter drove in one as Samford built a 17-5 advantage. Western Carolina added one final run in the bottom of the ninth inning to make the final score 17-6.
 
Samford will play host to in-state rival Jacksonville State on Tuesday, April 19. The game is set for a 6 p.m. start from Joe Lee Griffin Field.
 
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