GREENSBORO, N.C. – UNC Greensboro third baseman Jake Ogden hit a three-run walk-off home run with one out in the bottom of the ninth inning to lift the Spartan baseball team to a 6-4 win over Samford in the final game of a Southern Conference series Sunday afternoon at the UNCG Baseball Stadium.
"It was a tough loss today," Samford head coach Tony David said. "I thought we battled like crazy and had the lead in the ninth with our guy on the mound that has done it all year. We played well defensively and really pitched it well enough to win for the most part. This is a really offensive league and particularly on Sunday's, you have to score. In the end we have to tip our hat to them."
With the loss, Samford dropped its record to 33-18 overall and 13-5 in Southern Conference play. UNCG improved its season mark to 31-18 overall and 15-6 in SoCon play. This marked the first time Samford has lost a SoCon series this season.
The series was UNCG's last SoCon series of the season, and Samford will host Wofford to end the regular season next weekend. Samford will now need to win at least two games against Wofford to have a chance to win a share of the SoCon regular season title.
"Everything is still in front of us," David said. "It's been a long time since we've lost a series. We have to go home and win another series at home to share the title."
Samford was led in the loss by Lucas Steele, going 3-for-4 at the plate. Garrett Howe was 2-for-4 for the Bulldogs. John Anderson homered and drove in two runs in a 1-for-3 performance at the plate. Angelo Prieto also drove in two runs, going 1-for-4 with a double. Carson Lore (2-4) pitched 1.2 innings in relief, giving up three runs on five hits to take the loss on the mound for Samford.
For UNCG, Ogden went 2-for-5 with the homer and three RBI. Mitchell Smith also homered for the Spartans, going 2-for-3 with an RBI. Grant Aycock (3-0) pitched 4.0 innings in relief, allowing no runs on just one hit to earn the win on the mound for the Spartans.
UNCG jumped on top first with two runs in the bottom of the third inning. Smith hit a solo homer for the first run of the game. Caleb Cozart then doubled to drive in another run for a 2-0 Spartan lead.
Samford answered with two runs of its own in the top of the fourth inning to knot the score at 2-2. Anderson hit a home run with Howe on base to bring the Bulldogs back to even. UNCG's Luke Jenkins scored on a wild pitch in the bottom of the fourth inning to give the Spartans a 3-2 lead.
In the top of the sixth inning, Samford took the lead, plating two runs. Prieto doubled to drive in Andrew Bennett and Anderson to give Samford a 4-3 lead.
The score remained 4-3 heading into the bottom of the ninth inning. Smith singled to lead the inning off and then moved to second base on a sacrifice bunt. Aidan Brewer then singled, and Smith moved to third base. Ogden then homered to left field, ending the game in a 6-4 UNCG win.
Samford will host Auburn on Tuesday, May 14, at the Hoover Metropolitan Stadium. The game is set for a 6 p.m. start.
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