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Cravey_Memphis
Chase Cochran | Samford Athletics
4
Samford SAM 0-1
7
Winner Memphis MEM 1-0
Samford SAM
0-1
4
Final
7
Memphis MEM
1-0
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Samford SAM 0 0 2 0 1 0 1 0 0 4 6 2
Memphis MEM 1 0 1 0 0 1 4 0 X 7 5 1

W: GREEN III, GLENN (1-0) L: Petschke, Ben (0-1) S: CURTIS, JAKE (1)

Game Recap: Baseball |

Bulldogs Falter Late in Season Opener at Memphis

MEMPHIS, Tenn. – The Samford Baseball Team fought hard but ultimately fell 7-4 to the University of Memphis in its first contest of the 2023 season on Friday afternoon. 
 
A four-run seventh inning by the Tigers proved to be the turning point in the contest, in which they took advantage of a pair of walks and a throwing error to start the frame before coming out of the inning with a 7-4 lead. 
 
Josh Rodriguez led the Bulldogs on offense with a 3-4 day at the plate in his Samford debut. The junior outfielder also accounted for his first Bulldog home run while scoring three times. 
 
Garrett Staton knocked a pair of hits, highlighted by an RBI double. Stephen Klein drove in a run while Kace Garner and Garrett Howe both logged a hit in the contest.
 
On the mound, Jacob Cravey struck out a game-high eight batters over 4.1 innings of work. The junior righty conceded two earned runs on just two hits. 
 
Alex Goff fired an inning of scoreless relief before exiting the game in the bottom of the sixth after injuring himself on a sacrifice bunt. Ben Petschke (0-1) shouldered the loss, surrendering three earned in 1.2 innings pitched. Dominic Ganley finished out the afternoon with a scoreless eighth. 
 
The Tigers struck first in the contest when a solo homer to right from Anthony Hansen gave them a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first. 
 
The Bulldogs responded in the top of the third when Staton cranked a one-out double to right that scored Rodriguez, who reached base via walk one batter prior. Staton eventually came around to score on a wild pitch to put Samford up 2-1.
 
Memphis tied the game in its next at-bat, taking advantage of a pair of walks in the inning before Logan Kohler knocked a two-out hit to right field to make it a 2-2.
 
Samford went back up 3-2 in the top of the fifth when a sun-aided pop-fly from Rodriguez fell in for a hit and a single to right from Staton helped set the stage for a one-out sacrifice fly from Klein. 
 
The Tigers tied the game back up in the bottom of the sixth on a two-out RBI single from Austin Baskin, but the Bulldogs responded in their next at-bat when Rodriguez belted an 0-2 offering over the right field wall to lead off the inning and give Samford a 4-3 lead late. 
 
Two of the Tigers' four runs in the bottom of the seventh came on an RBI single to right from Cameron Benson after a pair of walks and a throwing error led off the frame. Dubose followed suit one batter later with an RBI groundout while Baskin drove in the game's final run on an RBI fielders choice. 
 
"Overall there were several positives today but we had one tough inning," Head Coach Tony David said. We made some mistakes in the seventh that are just going to cost you games. Cravey did a great job and Goff was off to another great outing before his injury. We are down some key guys on the mound now but feel like we have enough depth to absorb it early. Josh had a great day at the plate and we will bounce back tomorrow."
 
The Bulldogs outhit the Tigers seven to five on the day. Samford's pitching staff held Memphis to just a .172 average, including a clip of .150 with runners on base.
 
The Bulldogs will take on the Tigers in game two of their weekend series on Saturday, with first pitch from FedExPark set for 2:00 p.m. (CST)
 
FOLLOW THE BULLDOGS:
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).
 
 
 
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