BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The Samford Baseball Team will play host to the North Alabama Lions on Tuesday, March 21 for its Title IX Celebration.
First pitch from Joe Lee Griffin Field is slated for 6:00 p.m., with the contest streaming live on
ESPN+.
The Bulldogs are coming off a three-game sweep over UT Martin at home this past weekend to improve their current winning streak to four games.
Samford took both games of a Saturday doubleheader (4-1, 6-4) over the Skyhawks while clinching a sweep on Sunday with a 1-0 shutout.
The Bulldogs are scheduled to start sophomore right-hander
Jacob Newman on Tuesday. It will be Newman's third start of the season with his most recent coming at UAB on March 14.
The Bulldogs trail North Alabama 11-2 in their series history that dates to 1949. Samford bested the Lions 9-1 on April 3, 2019, in their lone meeting since UNA made the transition to division one in 2018-19.
Three Bulldogs enter the week with a team-high 20 base hits.
Garrett Howe,
Jayden Davis, and
Garrett Staton have all recorded 20 base knocks while Staton and How have each also driven in 11 runs.
Andrew Bennett (.571),
Garrett Staton (.429), and
Jayden Davis (.421) all batted over .400 last week, with Davis recording a team-high eight hits and five runs.
Lucas Steele drove in a team-best six runs while batting .353 and slugging a team-high three extra-base hits.
Junior reliever
Ben Petschke leads the SoCon in both saves (4) and relief appearances (11). Petschke is holding opposing hitters to a .234 average and has posted a .3.94 ERA on the year.
North Alabama (5-13, 0-3 ASUN) will look to halt a six-game skid after dropping all three contests at Central Arkansas to open up ASUN play this past weekend. The Lions fell 9-1 in game one, 7-6 in game two, and 17-8 in the series finale.
Andrew Knight (.296) comes in as the Lions' leading hitter while Kyle Machado has knocked in a team-best 13 runs and Dominick McIntyre has crossed the plate a team-high 14 times.
Relievers Jacob Bradshaw, Will Morris, and Will Shepherd have all logged a save for UNA, with Howard appearing in a team-high six contests.
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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).
