BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The Samford University baseball team plated two runs in the bottom of the eighth inning to earn a 6-5 come-from-behind win over North Alabama Tuesday night at Joe Lee Griffin Field.
 
With the win, Samford improved its record to 3-5 on the young season. North Alabama fell to 6-3 with the loss.
 
"It's a big win," Samford head coach Tony David said. "I told the guys on the field, it's the second Tuesday in February of the regular season and we weren't going to make or break our season with tonight's contest, but it's a big win. We took our lumps this weekend against a great Georgia team, but we feel good about our group. To be down 5-1 there in the middle innings, it was just an incredible job."
 
Samford was led at the plate by Eddie Marshall, going 2-for-4 with a home run and one RBI. Luke Boykin went 2-for-5 with a double and two RBI. Charlie Bozeman also went 2-for-4 for the Bulldogs. Jake Souders homered, going 1-for-3 with two RBI.
 
Zak Spurrier (1-0) pitched 1.2 innings allowing no runs on one hit and striking out three batters to earn the win on the mound for Samford. Joseph Lee, Ryan Vermillion and Will Andre also saw time on the mound for Samford.
 
For UNA, Dylan Coleman went 3-for-5 with a double, two home runs and four RBI. Gavin Oswald (2-1) gave up two runs on four hits without recording an out in the eighth inning to take the loss for the Lions.
 
North Alabama scored a run in each of the first three innings to take a 3-0 lead. Boykin put Samford on the scoreboard when he singled to drive in Souders in the bottom of the third inning to cut the lead to 3-1.
 
In the top of the fifth inning, the Lions added two more runs on Coleman's second home run of the game to push their lead to 5-1. In the bottom of the fifth inning, Boykin doubled to drive in Cade Carr to cut the lead to 5-2. Souders hit a two-run home run in the bottom of the sixth inning to draw Samford to within one run at 5-4.
 
In the bottom of the eighth inning, Marshall led the inning off with a solo home run to left field, his first as a Bulldog, to knot the score at 5-5. Gus Gandy and Bozeman then singled, and Souders walked to load the bases. Carr then singled through the left side of the infield to drive in Gandy for the eventual game-winning run, giving Samford the 6-5 victory.
 
Samford will host Bowling Green in a three-game series this weekend. The teams are set to play Friday at 4 p.m., Saturday at 11 a.m. and Sunday at 11 a.m. The Friday and Sunday games can be seen live on ESPN+ and live stats will be available for all three games. For links to follow Samford baseball this season, click on the following link: 2026 SCHEDULE.


 
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