BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The Samford Baseball team will open play in its fourth regional appearance in program history as the No. 3 seed in the Auburn Region on Friday and take on the No. 2 seed Golden Eagles of Southern Miss.
 
First pitch from Plainsman Park is slated for 1:00 p.m. (CST), with the contest streaming live on ESPN+
 
The Bulldogs are the first team in program history to win both the conference regular-season and tournament title after notching three wins on Saturday, May 27 to clinch the Southern Conference Tournament Championship. Impending inclement weather from a nearby area of low pressure forced the tournament to move to a Saturday Championship Day format.
 
Josh Rodriguez and Heath Clevenger, whose 6.2 innings of 2-hit baseball in the championship game earned him Walt Nadzak Tournament Most Outstanding Player, were both named to the All-Tournament Squad. Senior pitcher Brody Westbrooks earned the Pinnacle Award for sporting the highest GPA on the championship-winning team (3.98).
 
Starting Pitchers Will Lynch, Jacob Newman, and Heath Clevenger set the tone for Saturday by combining to toss 19.2 of the Bulldogs' 27 innings, giving up just three runs on 10 hits with 13 strikeouts.
 
Samford comes into regional play with a record of 12-3 in May, highlighted by a three-game sweep at Mercer on May 18-20 to close out regular-season play and secure the SoCon Regular-Season crown.
 
The Bulldogs reached the finals of the 2012 Tallahassee Regional with two wins over SEC Tournament champion Mississippi State. Samford returned to Tallahassee in 2018, upsetting seventh-ranked Florida State on its home field. Most recently, the Bulldogs competed in the 2021 Starkville Regional, facing eventual national championship Mississippi State.
 
Samford and Southern Miss have met nine previous times in baseball, with the Golden Eagles holding a 6-3 series lead. The teams last played in 2016 in a three-game series in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, with USM winning two of the three games.
 
Currently, all advanced tickets for the regional are sold out. Limited numbers of tickets may become available for purchase on gameday based on the participating teams' needs and stadium capacity. If participating teams return tickets, they would be made available for purchase online by mid-morning on gamedays. There is no guarantee teams will return tickets for sale.
 
Limited numbers of tickets may become available for purchase at the gates based on stadium capacity. If any tickets become available, they will be sold in person at Plainsman Park on a first-come, first-serve basis around first pitch.
 
Fans are encouraged to check StubHub for tickets in the resale market.
 
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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).