BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The Samford baseball team completed its season-opening sweep of Queens University of Charlotte with a 16-6, eight-inning win Sunday afternoon at Joe Lee Griffin Field.
 
With the win, Samford improved to 3-0 on the young season. Queens dropped to 0-3 with the loss.
 
John Anderson led Samford at the plate, going 2-for-3 with a home run and five RBI. Cade Carr had a team-high three hits in the game, going 3-for-3 with two doubles and two RBI. Angelo Prieto went 2-for-5 with a home run and two RBI. Lucas Steele also homered for Samford in the game.
 
Jake Holifield (1-0) picked up the win on the mound for Samford, pitching 2.2 innings in relief, striking out four batters and not allowing a hit. Will Lynch, Heath Clevenger, Turner Thompson and Evan Steckmesser also saw time on the mound for Samford.
 
For Queens, Will Budnick went 2-for-4 with a home run and two RBI. Andrew White (0-1) took the loss for the Royals, tossing 2.0 innings and allowing six runs on just one hit.
 
Samford scored two runs in the bottom of the first inning when Garrett Staton scored on a Steele sacrifice fly and Garrett Howe scored on a passed ball for a 2-0 Samford lead. Queens plated three runs in the top of the second inning to take a 3-2 lead, but Samford answered with four runs in the third on an Anderson grand slam to take a 6-3 lead.
 
Samford broke the game open with six runs in the bottom of the fourth inning. Anderson singled to drive in Staton for the first run and Howe scored on an error for an 8-3 lead. Prieto singled to drive in Anderson and then Carr hit a two-run double to make the score 11-3. The inning's final run scored when Hayden Perry scored on a ground out by Jackson Harris for a 12-3 lead.
 
Queens added a run in the fifth inning and two more in the sixth to cut the lead to 12-6. Samford plated a run in the seventh inning when Steele hit a solo home run to right field to make the score 13-6.
 
In the eighth inning, Samford added three more runs to make the score 16-6 and end the game on the mercy rule. Prieto homered to left-center field for the first run of the inning. Parker McDonald hit a sacrifice fly to bring in Perry, and Cullen Horowicz scored on a wild pitch for the game's final run.
 
Samford will next play host to in-state rival Jacksonville State on Tuesday, Feb. 20. The game is set for a 4 p.m. start from Joe Lee Griffin Field.




 
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