BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The Samford University baseball team earned an impressive 13-1 win in seven innings to complete the Bulldogs' sweep of Evansville Sunday afternoon at Joe Lee Griffin Field.
 
"Evansville, I think, can play, so you come into the weekend hoping for a series win," Samford head coach Tony David said. "So, the sweep is really, really good."
 
With the win, Samford improved its season record to 12-8. Evansville fell to 5-14 with the loss.
 
Mason Blache (2-0) pitched 5.0 innings, giving up just one unearned run on four hits and striking out five batters to earn the win on the mound for Samford. John Malone, Cullen Horowicz and Joseph Lee split the rest of the game without allowing a hit.
 
"I think the story of the weekend for us was starting pitching," David said. "Mason picked up right where (Miller) Riggins and (Cameron) Keshock left off on Friday. That was his first start, he's been throwing really well for weeks now. His role is going to be big for us moving forward."
 
The Samford offense belted five home runs in the win. Cade Carr hit two homers, while Trey Higgins, Jake Souders and Ty Truett each had one home run.
 
"Since we got back from Knoxville, as a group, we've swung the stew out of it," David said. "We got the ball out of the yard a few times today, finally. We felt great about the lineup, one through nine and a couple of other guys that were battling to get in there."
 
For Evansville, Charlie Longmeier drove in the Purple Aces' lone run, going 1-for-3. Kevin Reed (3-2) pitched 1.1 innings, allowing seven runs on seven hits to take the loss.
 
Evansville scored its lone run in the top of the first inning to take the early lead. Samford, however, took control of the game with five runs in the bottom of the first inning. Jackson Harris doubled to drive in the first run of the inning, and Carr and Higgins each hit two-run homers as Samford built a 5-1 lead.
 
The Bulldogs added two runs in the second inning on a sacrifice fly by Harris and a solo homer by Carr to make the score 7-1. In the third inning, Jeffrey Ince had an RBI single to push the lead to 8-1. In the sixth inning, Carr had a sacrifice fly and Souders homered to left field to make the score 10-1. In the seventh inning, Truett hit a three-run pinch-hit home run to end the game at 13-1 on the run rule.
 
Samford will next play host to in-state rival Jacksonville State on Tuesday, March 18. The game is set for a 6 p.m. start from Joe Lee Griffin Field.




 
FOLLOW THE BULLDOGS
For the latest news and information on Samford baseball, visit the official website for Samford Athletics at SamfordSports.com. Fans can also follow the Bulldogs on social media at /SamfordBaseball (Facebook), @SamfordBaseball (Instagram) and @SamfordBaseball (Twitter).