BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The Samford University baseball team dropped a 10-7 decision to Liberty in 10 innings in the first game of a three-game series Friday night at Joe Lee Griffin Field.
 
With the loss, Samford fell to 26-15 on the season. Liberty improved its record to 18-23 with the win.
 
"Like always, I am proud of our guys' effort and them battling back again after a tough inning on the mound," Samford head coach Tony David said.
 
Samford was led in the loss by Andrew Bennett, driving in four runs with a grand slam in a 1-for-5 performance at the plate. Garrett Staton went 2-for-4 with a double, a home run and two RBI. John Anderson also homered, going 1-for-4 with one RBI, while Hayden Perry went 2-for-5 for the Bulldogs.
 
"We had too many missed opportunities late in the game for us where we needed one more hit," David said. "And we didn't throw nearly enough strikes tonight. We have to bounce back tomorrow."
 
Carson Lore (1-3) pitched two-thirds of an inning, giving up three runs on two hits to take the loss on the mound for Samford. Michael Ross started the game, tossing 4.0 innings, allowing just one run on six hits and striking out four batters. Turner Thompson, John Whitney, Heath Clevenger and Evan Steckmesser also saw time on the mound for Samford.
 
"We were going to get (Michael) Ross out early to make sure he is fresh as possible heading back into SoCon play next weekend," David said. "And that meant we had to fill a few innings."
 
For Liberty, Cam Foster went 2-for-4 with a home run and one RBI. Macaddin Dye went 2-for-6 with two RBI for the Flames. Cale Bolton (1-1) pitched the final 2.0 innings, giving up no runs on one hit to earn the win on the mound for Liberty.
 
Samford started the scoring when Staton hit a solo home run in the bottom of the third inning. Liberty's Foster answered with a solo home run in the top of the fourth to tie the score at 1-1. In the bottom of the fourth, Anderson hit a solo home run to give Samford a 2-1 lead.
 
In the top of the fifth inning, Liberty scored six runs on just one hit to take a 7-2 lead. Samford pitchers walked six batters in the inning as the Flames grabbed a five-run lead.
 
In the bottom of the fifth inning, Bennett hit his grand slam to cut the lead to 7-6. Later in the fifth, Staton walked with the bases loaded to drive in Aaron Walton to knot the score at 7-7.
 
The game remained tied at 7-7 until the top of the 10^th inning when Liberty plated three runs to take the 10-7 lead. Dye and Brayden Horton had an RBI single each, and John Simmons walked with the bases loaded to give Liberty the three-run lead.
 
In the bottom of the 10^th inning, Samford got two runners on base, but the Bulldogs were unable to push any runs across the plate as Liberty held on for the win.
 
The teams will continue their series with a game Saturday at 5 p.m. at Joe Lee Griffin Field. The game can be seen live on ESPN+, and fans can also follow the game online via live stats. For links to follow all of Samford's games this season, click on the following link: BASEBALL SCHEDULE.
 
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