BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The Samford Baseball Team will take to the road this weekend for a three-game Southern Conference series at VMI, beginning with a 5:00 p.m. (CST) contest on Friday.
Samford battled Alabama tough their last time out on April 25 but ultimately fell 13-6 to the Crimson Tide. Garrett Howe led Samford with hits while John Anderson and Aaron Walton each drove in a pair.
The Bulldogs dropped two of three contests at Wofford last weekend to fall to 8-4 in league play, moving them into a three-way tie for first place with the Terriers and Mercer.
Samford has belted a SoCon-leading 28 home runs in league action and ranks second in slugging percentage (.592) and third in batting average (.312) in conference games.
Stephen Klein has been the Bulldogs' best hitter in SoCon play, sporting a .500 average, 1.068 slugging percentage, and six home runs in conference competitions. Stephen Klein (1.682), Jayden Davis (1.298), John Anderson (1.220), and Garrett Staton (1.013) all boast an OPS of over 1.000 against SoCon opponents this season.
Jayden Davis has hit safely in his last 24 games. The freshman infielder sits just five games shy of tying the program's longest hitting streak at 29 games and enters the weekend as the Bulldogs' leading hitter (.366).
The Bulldogs are scheduled to start Jacob Cravey in game one, Brody Westbrooks in game two, and Will Lynch in game three. Cravey, who leads the SoCon with 80 strikeouts and 35 strikeouts looking, is coming off a complete-game win at Wofford last week where he fanned 10 and allowed just two runs.
Samford holds a 24-7 series advantage over VMI, in a series that dates back to 1997. The Bulldogs have won 10 of their last 12 against the Keydets, including a two games to one series victory in Birmingham in 2022.
VMI is coming off a 16-1 home victory over Norfolk State on April 25. The Keydets drops their most recent SoCon series against Mercer last weekend, two games to one.
Five Keydets currently ranks in the top 10 in the SoCon in hitting, led by Justin Starke's .406 average. Starke, Cole Garrett, and Cole Jenkins have all slugged 10 homers and driven in 40 or more runs.
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