CARROLLTON, Ga. – The Samford University baseball team earned an 11-7 win at West Georgia Tuesday afternoon at Cole Field.
 
With the win, Samford improved its record to 6-7. West Georgia fell to 7-4 with the loss.
 
For Samford in the win, freshman Jake Souders went 4-for-5, scoring three runs. Freshman Gatlin Pitts went 3-for-5 with a home run and four RBI. Hayden Perry went 2-for-3 with a double and two RBI. Jeffrey Ince went 3-for-6 with three RBI, while Michael Gupton went 2-for-4 with two RBI.
 
"The guys played really well with a lot of big hits, particularly with two outs in critical situations," Samford head coach Tony David said. "We had tough conditions today with really strong winds and the surface was not kind to infielders today. It was good to see Jake have a monster game, with Perry and Pitts chipping in big swings."
 
Joseph Lee (1-1) pitched 0.2 innings, giving up one run on two hits to earn the win on the mound for Samford. Mason Blasche tossed 3.0 innings in relief, giving up three runs on four hits to pick up his first save of the season. Brooks Rice started the game, pitching 3.2 innings, giving up one run on two hits and struck out five batters.
 
"Brooks was electric for us and dominant early," David said. "Mason was awesome in relief with really only one hard-hit ball on him."
 
For West Georgia, Carter Dierdorf went 3-for-5 with a double, a home run and three RBI. Bryan Gomez (0-1) pitched 1.0 inning, giving up five runs on five hits to take the loss on the mound for the Wolves.
 
After West Georgia took an early lead with a run in the bottom of the fourth inning, Samford tied the score in the top of the fifth inning when Ince singled to drive in Pitts to knot the score at 1-1.
 
Samford took control of the game with five runs in the top of the sixth inning. Pitts and Ince drove in two runs each and Gupton drove in one as Samford took a 6-1 lead. West Georgia plated three runs in the bottom of the sixth inning to cut the lead to 6-4.
 
The Bulldogs pushed their lead to 9-4 with three runs in the seventh inning when Perry drove in two runs and Gupton drove in one. After the Wolves scored a run in the eighth inning to cut the lead to 9-5, Samford pushed the lead to 11-5 with two runs in the top of the ninth inning when Pitts hit a two-run homer. West Georgia added two final runs in the bottom of the ninth inning to make the final score 11-7.
 
Next up, Samford will play a three-game series at UT Martin this weekend. The teams are scheduled to play Friday at 3 p.m., Saturday at 3 p.m. and Sunday at 1 p.m.
 
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