BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The Samford University baseball team plated five runs in the bottom of the ninth inning to close to within one run but could not get over the hump in an 11-10 loss to 11^th-ranked Alabama Wednesday afternoon at Joe Lee Griffin Field.
 
"This was another tough one against a nationally ranked opponent that's a really good team," Samford head coach Tony David said. "They jumped out on us and had a little bit of a lead there at 5-0 and then we scored, and they scored. But when we were down late, we did a good job of continuing to battle and they ended up bringing in one of their weekend starters in relief and then they used their closer on the back end of it, who is one of the best in the country. We just did a great job there, down six runs going into the last inning against one of the best pitchers in the nation, our guys battled like crazy and got the winning run on first."
 
With the loss, Samford fell to 18-10 on the season. Alabama improved to 22-7 with the win.
 
Samford was led at the plate by John Anderson, going 4-for-6 with two RBI. Andrew Bennett went 3-for-5 with an RBI, while Cullen Horowicz went 2-for-4 with a home run and three RBI. Garrett Howe was 2-for-4 with a double and two RBI, while Garrett Staton went 2-for-5 with a double and one RBI.
 
Jacob Newman (2-1) pitched 1.1 innings, allowing three runs on three hits to take the loss on the mound for Samford. Newman was one of eight pitchers used by Samford in the game as Heath Clevenger, Evan Steckmesser, Turner Thompson, John Whitney, Miller Riggins, Matt Manley and John Malone also saw time on the mound.
 
For Alabama, Gage Miller went 2-for-4 with two home runs and three RBI. T.J. McCants and Ian Petrutz also homered in the game for the Crimson Tide. Kade Snell (1-0) pitched 4.0 innings, giving up no runs on four hits to earn the win on the mound for Alabama. Tyler Fay came in in the bottom of the ninth to get the final out to pick up his first save of the season.
 
Alabama jumped on top with two runs in the first inning, one run in the second inning and two more in the fifth inning for a 5-0 lead. Samford came back with three runs in the bottom of the fifth to cut the lead to 5-3. Anderson, Josh Rodriguez and Bennett had three-straight RBI singles to bring Samford to within two runs.
 
After Alabama added four runs in the top of the sixth inning, Howe and Anderson drove in a run each in the bottom of the sixth to make the score 9-5. Alabama then plated a run in the eighth inning and another in the ninth to push its lead to 11-5.
 
With one out in the bottom of the ninth inning, Horowicz hit a three-run home run to left-center field with Bennett and Lucas Steele on base to make the score 11-8. With two outs, Staton doubled to right-center field to drive in Aaron Walton to cut the lead to 11-9. Howe then singled to right field to drive in Staton to make the score 11-10. Samford, however, was unable to bring the tying run home, making the final score 11-10.
 
Samford will next travel to Charleston, S.C., for a three-game Southern Conference series at The Citadel. The teams are scheduled to play Friday, Saturday and Sunday, all at 12 p.m. (CT).




 
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