SPARTANBURG, S.C. – The Samford Baseball Team fell 6-2 at Wofford College in the third and deciding game of its three-game Southern Conference series against the Terriers on Sunday afternoon.
The setback drops the Bulldogs' record to 22-18 overall and 8-4 in SoCon action while Wofford improved to 29-10 overall and 8-4 in league play.
Joshua Rodriguez led Samford on offense with a two-hit, two-RBI day. The junior outfielder slugged a go-ahead homer in the sixth and clubbed an RBI double in the seventh.
Garrett Howe, Stephen Klein, Lucas Steele, and Andrew Bennett knocked a hit to the contest.
Will Lynch (3-3) was tagged with the loss, despite giving up just two runs on three hits over 5.1 innings of labor. Lynch matched a season-high with six strikeouts in the contest.
Jake Holifield gave up four runs over 2.1 innings of relief while Turner Thompson struck out the lone batter he faced in the bottom of the eighth.
Lynch danced out of danger to work the first five innings unscathed, with a 5-4-2 double play bringing the Terriers' scoring hopes to a screeching halt in the bottom of the fifth.
Rodriguez broke the scoreless tie in the top of the sixth inning by launching his third homer of the season way over the left field wall, giving the Bulldogs a 1-0 lead. Wofford responded in the bottom half by taking the lead on a three-run blast by Gunnar Johnson with two away.
The Bulldogs cut their deficit to 3-2 on a two-out double by Rodriguez that plated Aaron Walton, who worked a walk one batter prior. The Terriers once again had an answer in the bottom half, this time taking advantage of a solo blast by Ryan Galanie to go up 4-2.
Wofford got a pair of insurance runs in the bottom of the eighth in the form of an RBI double from Andrew Mannelly and an RBI triple from Jack Renwick before giving way to the 6-2 final score.
"Today was another really good game between two good teams," Head Coach Tony David said. "Both starters were outstanding. Lynch did his job and got us into the 6th without giving up a run. J-Rod stepped in and gave us two big swings and a great diving catch. We handled them well and played catch with two plays at the plate. Ultimately, they got more big hits than we did. We got a tough hop on a double play ball that they turned into a three-run homer. We've got three weeks to play and we are tied for first place ready for the sprint to the finish. We are still in a really good place and are ready for another big series at VMI next weekend."
The Bulldogs will return to the diamond on Tuesday, April 25 when they take on the University of Alabama at 6:00 p.m. in Tuscaloosa.
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