BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The Samford University baseball team dropped a pair of games to Western Carolina Saturday at Joe Lee Griffin Field. Western Carolina took the first game, 4-1, and the second contest by a score of 8-2.
With the losses, Samford fell to 22-20 overall and 8-6 in SoCon play. Western Carolina is 22-20 overall and 6-8 in league action.
For Samford in game one,
Parker McDonald went 2-for-4 at the plate.
Jackson Harris drove on Samford's lone run of game one, going 1-for-3 with an RBI.
Evan Steckmesser (3-3) pitched 1.0 inning in relief, allowing three runs on three hits to take the loss on the mound for Samford.
Western Carolina was led by Jack Spyke, going 2-for-4 with a home run and two RBI. Noah Quarless also homered, going 1-for-2 with one RBI. Josh Osiander (3-1) pitched a third of an inning to earn the win on the mound. Brandon Langley earned his eighth save of the season, tossing a perfect final inning,
In game one, Western Carolina struck first when Quarless led the third inning off with a solo home run for a 1-0 Catamount lead. The Bulldogs knotted the score when Harris singled up the middle to drive in
Gus Gandy in the bottom of the seventh inning to bring Samford even at 1-1.
In the top of the eighth inning, Western Carolina took the lead back when Spyke hit a two-run home run to left field for a 3-1 Catamount lead. Later in the eighth, Wyatt Stanley doubled to drive in Mason Holton to make the score 4-1.
In game two, Samford was led by
Cade Carr, going 2-for-4 with two RBI.
Jeffrey Ince also went 2-for-4 for the Bulldogs.
Cameron Keshock (4-2) pitched 5.0 innings, allowing eight runs on eight hits to take the loss on the mound.
For WCU in game two, Hayden Friese went 2-for-5 with a home run and two RBI. Stanley hit a grand slam, going 1-for-4 with four RBI. Dusty Revis (4-4) earned the win on the mound for the Catamounts, tossing 6.0 innings, allowing no runs on four hits.
Western Carolina scored six runs in the third inning, with the bulk of the runs coming on Stanley's grand slam, taking a 6-0 lead. The Catamounts added two runs in the fourth inning on a two-run homer by Friese to make the score 8-0. Samford plated two runs in the seventh inning on a two-run single by Carr, making the final score 8-2.
The teams will wrap up the series with a game on Sunday at 1 p.m. at Joe Lee Griffin Field.
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