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Samford University Athletics

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Samford Baseball takes the field on March 18, 2023 against UT Martin.
Chase Cochran | Samford Athletics
19
Winner Samford SAM 12-10, 1-0 SoCon
7
ETSU ETSU 10-10, 0-1 SoCon
Winner
Samford SAM
12-10, 1-0 SoCon
19
Final
7
ETSU ETSU
10-10, 0-1 SoCon
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 R H E
Samford SAM 2 0 1 0 7 0 1 8 19 16 0
ETSU ETSU 0 1 1 1 1 1 0 2 7 11 1

W: Cravey, Jacob (3-2) L: Colby Stuart (1-1)

Game Recap: Baseball |

Baseball Slams its Way to 19-7 Win at ETSU in SoCon Opener

JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. – Lucas Steele and Garrett Staton both belted grand slams as part of a five-homer day for the Samford Baseball Team in its 19-7 win at ETSU to open Southern Conference play Friday afternoon.
 
The victory marks the Bulldogs' sixth in a row and improves their record to 12-10 overall and 1-0 in SoCon action. ETSU falls to 10-10.
 
"Today was a well-played game all around for our guys," Head Coach Tony David said. "Obviously, the bats were hot and the ball was carrying well today. "Cravey did a great job of attacking the zone and didn't walk a batter, which kept theirs to solo home runs for the most part."
 
John Anderson, Andrew Bennett, Stephen Klein, Staton, and Steele all went yard, with Steele amassing a career-high six runs batted in on three hits. The Bulldog's five home runs mark the most in a game since the 2015 campaign.
 
Anderson and Klein both also collected three hits, with Klein driving in four runs and Anderson knocking in three to go along with a pair of doubles. Bennett registered three RBI while Staton and Klein each scored thrice. Jayden Davis crossed home plate a team-high four times while also knocking a pair of hits.
 
Jacob Cravey (3-2) fanned five batters over 5.1 innings of work, surrendering five runs on the way to his third win of the season. Turner Thompson tossed the final 2.2 innings out of relief, striking out a pair while giving up just one hit.
 
The Bulldogs wasted no time getting on the scoreboard, tallying runs in the first on an RBI single from Steele and an RBI double from Anderson to take a 2-0 lead.
 
ETSU scratched runs in the second, third, and fourth innings while Samford was able to add one in the third on an RBI groundout from Steele to see a 3-3 tie heading into the fifth.
 
Samford erupted for seven runs on five hits in the top of the fifth inning, with Steele's grand slam starting the outpouring of runs in the frame. Following an RBI double from Dreier, Bennett left the yard for the third time this season with a two-run blast that put the Bulldogs up 10-3.
 
The Bucs got one back in the fifth on a Noah Webb solo shot and another in the sixth courtesy of a Nick Iannantone RBI single, which was answered by Anderson's fifth big fly of the year in the top of the seventh that put the Bulldogs on top 11-5.
 
The Bulldogs put the game away in the top of the eighth by pounding out eight runs on four hits. Klein got the inning going by launching his second homer of the season, a towering three-run blast to right-center, to give Samford a 14-5 lead. An RBI walk by Bennett set the state for Staton's grand slam that put the Bulldogs up 19-5.
 
ETSU added a pair of runs on a two-run shot by Cameron Sisneros, his second of the day, before giving way to the 19-7 final score.
 
"Steele's slam with the game tied in the fifth got the explosion going for us and we did a good job keeping the foot on the gas," David said. "Turner came into the game in a tough situation to get another big double play again for us. He has been outstanding for us in a role we weren't expecting him to have to fill a month ago. It's always great to get the first one because tomorrow is going to be crazy weather and an extreme wind day."
 
Samford batted .410 (16-39) on the day, highlighted by a mark of .476 (10-21) with runners on and .462 (6-13) with runners in scoring position.
 
The Bulldogs and Bucs will play game two of the weekend series on Saturday, March 25 at 1:00 p.m. (CT).
 
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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