BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The Samford University baseball team plated 10 runs on 10 hits to earn a 10-3 win in the second game of a three-game series against Liberty Saturday evening at Joe Lee Griffin Field.
 
With the win, Samford improved its season record to 27-15. Liberty dropped to 18-24 with the loss. The Samford win evens the series after Liberty's 10-inning win Friday night.
 
"This was a good bounce back performance for our guys," Samford head coach Tony David said. "We take a lot of pride in finishing and it's pretty rare when the game is like it was yesterday when it's tight towards the end that we're not the ones that get the job done. This was a big answer today."
 
Noah Berry started the game on the mound for Samford, pitching 4.0 innings, giving up one run on three hits and striking out three batters. Blake Bortak (1-0) got the win, tossing 1.0 inning in relief, allowing one run on one hit. Jake Holifield picked up his first save of the season, pitching the final inning, giving up one run on two hits.
 
"Today was really about Noah Berry," David said. "He has really been coming on. He didn't throw a ton the first half of the season. I told him all the time that I was a big fan of his and I really felt like he was going to help us and felt like he would help us this year. His time has really come around the last couple of weeks. The guys really want him on the mound. They feed off of it. Him going out there and giving us four really good innings was a big part of it, coming off of the way we pitched in the second half of yesterday's game."
 
At the plate for Samford, John Anderson went 2-for-5 with two doubles. Garrett Staton and Lucas Steele both homered in the win for Samford.
 
For Liberty, Tanner Marsh went 2-for-4 with a double and two RBI. Nick Moran (3-3) pitched 4.1 innings, giving up four runs on six hits to take the loss on the mound for the Flames.
 
Samford got the scoring started in the bottom of the first inning when Andrew Bennett singled to drive in Anderson for a 1-0 Bulldog lead. In the top of the third inning, Marsh singled to drive in Noah Rabon to tie the score at 1-1.
 
Samford took the lead for good with two runs in the bottom of the fourth inning. Aaron Walton singled to drive in Bennett for the first run of the inning. Walton later stole third base and scored on an error for a 3-1 Samford lead.
 
After both teams scored a run in the fifth inning, Samford broke the game open with three runs in the sixth inning and three more in the seventh inning. In the sixth inning, Walton again stole third and scored on an error. Cade Carr then had an RBI single and later scored on a wild pitch. In the seventh inning, Bennett scored on a wild pitch and Steele hit a two-run homer as Samford took a 10-2 lead. Liberty added one final run in the top of the eighth inning to make the final score 10-3.
 
The teams will conclude their series with a game Sunday at 12 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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