BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Samford shortstop Garrett Howe delivered a walk-off three-run home run in the bottom of the ninth inning to give the Bulldog baseball team a 5-4 win over VMI in the final game of a Southern Conference series Sunday afternoon at Joe Lee Griffin Field.
 
With the win, Samford sweeps the conference-opening series for both teams. The Bulldogs now have a record of 16-7 overall and 3-0 in Southern Conference play. VMI fell to 12-13 overall and 0-3 in league games.
 
Samford was led offensively by Hayden Perry, going 3-for-4 at the plate. Howe went 1-for-3 with a homer and three RBI. John Whitney hit his first college home run, going 1-for-4 with two RBI. Carson Lore (1-1) pitched 3.0 hitless innings in relief, striking out four batters to earn the win on the mound for the Bulldogs.
 
"Just an unbelievable job, first by our relief pitchers," Samford head coach Tony David said. "Will Lynch is an incredibly talented pitcher that has had a little bit of a tough skid here lately. We were going to have a short leash because we felt like we had a number of guys behind him that would give us a chance. (Alex) Flood, (Jake) Holifield, and obviously Lore was electric on the back end. They really kept us in it. When you're going to have a comeback like that, it usually starts with zeros on the mound."
 
For VMI, Grayson Fitzwater went 2-for-3 with a double and three RBI to lead the Keydets at the plate. Marcus Van Alstine (1-3) pitched the final one third of an inning, giving up the final home run to take the loss on the mound for VMI.
 
"We didn't take advantage of some opportunities and their starter did a good job of keeping us off balance," David said. "But one thing we've been able to do through the years is that late in games. We had a lot of confidence off the way yesterday ended for us. Once Whitney hit that ball out, there was a completely different feel in both dugouts the rest of the game."
 
VMI scored two runs in the first inning and two more in the second inning to take an early 4-0 lead.
 
The score remained 4-0 until the seventh inning when Samford plated two runs to cut the lead to 4-2. Whitney homered to center field with Andrew Bennett on base to bring Samford to within two runs.
 
The teams entered the ninth inning with VMI still clinging to a 4-2 advantage. Perry singled to left field to get the rally started. Aaron Walton was then hit by a pitch and Brayden Broome pinch ran for Perry. VMI then brought in Van Alstine to pitch. With one out, Howe homered to right-center field to give the Bulldogs the walk-off, 5-4 win.
 
Samford will next play host to the Mississippi State Bulldogs on Tuesday, March 26. The game is set for a 6 p.m. start from Joe Lee Griffin Field.


 
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