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Samford University Athletics

OFFICIAL WEBSITE OF SAMFORD UNIVERSITY ATHLETICS
BSB Regular Season Champs
12
Winner Samford SAM 31-22
11
Mercer MER 32-22
Winner
Samford SAM
31-22
12
Final
11
Mercer MER
32-22
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Samford SAM 3 3 1 0 0 0 1 4 0 12 12 0
Mercer MER 0 0 4 0 0 0 4 3 0 11 16 1

W: Thompson, Turner (3-3) L: Jaxon O'Neal (3-1) S: Petschke, Ben (13)

Game Recap: Baseball |

Baseball Slugs Way to SoCon Regular-Season Title

MACON, Ga. – The Samford Baseball Team set a single-game record with eight home runs on the way to capturing a Southern Conference Regular-Season Title with its 12-11 win at Mercer on Friday evening.
 
The win marks the Bulldogs' sixth SoCon championship and second regular-season title in the conference. It is Samford's first SoCon Championship under Head Coach Tony David, whose first recruiting class as recruiting coordinator won the Ohio Valley Conference in 2006. David's first full recruiting class as a member of the SoCon additionally captured a conference Championship in 2012.
 
The victory improves Samford's record to 31-22 overall and 14-6 in conference action. Mercer falls to 32-22 overall and 13-7 in league games. The series victory locks the Bulldogs in as the No. 1 seed and secures them a double-bye for Southern Conference Baseball Championship presented by Holston Gases in Greenville, S.C. next week.
 
"It's easier to say when you win them but these last two games are as good as it gets at this level," Head Coach Tony David said. "Today was a heavyweight knockdown drag-out fight with everything on the line. I've said it for two years now, but the fight our guys show is mind-boggling game in and out. We jumped out early but we know on this field on a night like tonight, you have to hit the ball over the fence and try to keep their home runs to one or two-run shots. There were several home runs that go out anywhere but several that wouldn't."
 
Josh Rodriguez led the Bulldogs at the plate with five runs batted in on a pair of home runs, upping his season total to nine. John Anderson also went yard twice, finishing with three RBI and bolstering his home run tally to a SoCon-best 20 for the year.
 
Lucas Steele and Garrett Howe each collected a pair of hits and socked a home run, with Howe scoring twice. Stephen Klein also recorded a two-hit night while Jayden Davis and Andrew Bennett also went yard, with Davis extending his program-record hitting streak to 36 games.
 
Turner Thompson (3-3) earned the win in relief while Ben Petschke tossed the final 1.1 innings of relief to lock down his SoCon-leading 13th save of the season. Jake Holifield gave up three runs over 2.2 innings of relief while starter Brody Westbrooks conceded four runs over the game's first four frames.
 
"Despite all the runs, our guys made a lot of big pitches in critical moments and we caught the ball well tonight again," David said. "Petschke is the heart-stopping specialist."
 
The Bulldogs wasted no time getting on the scoreboard, plating three runs in the top of the first. Anderson knocked a two-run shot following a two-out double to left by Klein that extended the inning. Steele followed up one batter later with a solo blast to put the Bulldogs up 3-0.
 
Samford once against went back-to-back in the top of the second, with a two-run shot by Rodriguez and a solo blast by Bennett accounting for the damage done.
 
Howe put the Bulldogs up 7-0 in the top of the third with his second big fly of the season, but the Bears broke through with four runs in the bottom of the inning. Ty Dalley blasted a solo home run to get Mercer on the board, followed by a bases-loaded double play, and a two-run homer by Carter Sanford with two outs.
 
Davis's eighth home run of the season put Samford up 8-4 in the top of the seventh, but the Bears responded with four runs in the bottom half of the frame. Solo shots by Frye and Erich Toth, as well as a two-run homer by Jozsef Rohrbacher, accounted for the damage done.
 
The Bulldogs retook the lead in the top of the eight, plating four runs on three hits. Anderson gave Samford a 9-8 lead with his second homer of the day while Rodriguez's second bomb padded the Bulldogs' advantage 
 
Mercer got back within striking distance in the bottom of the eighth, using an RBI double from Treyson Hughes and a two-run bloop single by Antonio Brown to trim Samford's lead to 12-11.
 
The Bears made things interesting in the top of the ninth by putting runners on the corners following a two-out hit batsman and a single to right by Frye. Petshcke was able to induce a game-ending groundout to first one batter later.
 
"As I said last night, I respect Mercer's program and what they do every year so much," David said. "We knew this was going to be nine hard innings with a lot of back-and-forth action."
 
The Bulldogs and Bears will play the third and final game of their SoCon series on Saturday, May 20 at 1:00 p.m. (CST) from Macon, Ga.
 
"We talk about keeping it moving forward in the game, in season, and overall as a program," David said. "Getting this regular-season championship with three All-SoCon arms out for the season makes it that much more incredible. Next week is great but as a staff, team, and program we are going to enjoy this one."
 
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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).
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