HAMMOND, La. – Led by a four-hit, five-RBI performance from junior shortstop Garrett Howe, the Samford Baseball Team picked up a 9-3 win at Southeastern Louisiana on Sunday to close out its three-game series with the Lions.
With the victory, Samford improves to 3-4 while the Lions drop to 7-1.
"It was another big weekend-saving win on Sunday, Head Coach
Tony David said. It was great job of our guys bouncing back after a tough day yesterday. Offensively, we jumped out front early with several good at-bats against a really good pitcher."
Howe's four base knocks matched a career-high while his five runs driven marked a new collegiate best. The Dacula, Ga. native also knocked a pair of doubles on the day.
Jayden Davis knocked three hits for the second time this season while Stephen Klein registered two hits, two runs, and two RBIs. Garrett Staton finished the day with one hit, one run, and one RBI while Kaden Dreier added an RBI double.
On the mound, Ben Petschke (1-0) notched his first win as a Bulldog by recording the final out of the fifth inning. Starter Will Lynch conceded just two earned runs on three hits in 4.2 innings while Carson Hobbs (2) locked down his second save of the season by tossing the final four frames.
"Lynch minimized damage in the first inning and really settled in," David said. We got huge tack-on runs late after a big defensive play got us out of an inning. Howe had a monster day with clutch two out hits."
The Bulldogs struck for four runs in the first, which began with a leadoff double by Rodriguez to right center. Following a single up the middle from Davis, Klein delivered the first run of the frame with an RBI single to right. A one-out walk by Steele loaded the bases and set the stage for Staton's three-RBI two-bagger to right center that came with two away.
The Lions answered right away, getting a pair of runs on a Jake Killingsworth single in the bottom of the fourth to cut Samford's deficit to 4-2.
Lynch held the Lions hitless for the next three innings before his eventual departure with two away in the fourth. A two-out fielding error kept the door open and allowed the Lions to get within a run of Samford, but Petschke was able to punch out the lone batter he faced in the bottom of the fifth to keep the Bulldogs up 4-3.
The Bulldogs added a run in the top of the eighth when Howe drove in his fourth run of the game with an RBI single to right. Steele led off the frame with a double to right, and pinch runner Blake Bortak was bunted over to third by Garrett Staton to set Howe up for the RBI chance.
Samford plated four insurance runs in the top of the ninth, with Klein clubbing an RBI double to right for the inning's first blow. A Lion throwing error, followed by RBI doubles from Staton and Dreier accounted for the remainder of the damage done in the frame.
The Bulldogs batted .359 for the day, accounting for a season-high six doubles. The Samford staff did not give up an extra-base hit while striking out 10 on the day.
"The story of this day was Hobbs," David said. He had electric stuff for four innings for us to finish off a really good team. We put up a good fight all weekend, and handled a tough environment with a lot of noise from all areas of the stadium and field."
The Bulldogs will return home for their next contest against Alabama State on Wednesday, March 1 against Alabama State. First pitch from Joe Lee Griffin Field is slated for 4:00 p.m. (CST).
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