BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The Samford University baseball team dropped a 5-1 decision in the second game of a three-game series against Little Rock Saturday afternoon at Joe Lee Griffin Field.
 
With the loss, Samford fell to 7-10 on the season. Little Rock improved to 9-9 with the win.
 
For Samford at the plate, Trey Higgins homered, going 1-for-2. Mason Blasche (0-4) pitched 5.2 innings, giving up five runs on 10 hits to take the loss on the mound for Samford. Drew Druckenmiller and John Whitney combined for the final 3.1 innings, giving up no runs on just two hits.
 
"We wasted another really good pitching performance from Mason and a great defensive day for our guys," Samford head coach Tony David said. "One tough inning for Mase. Druck was great on the back end, and we have Whitney back from injury. In the end we just aren't scoring enough with a group of hitters that can really hit the baseball. We had a number of really hard-hit outs but way too many first pitch weak outs from a really powerful group of hitters. I believe in these guys and at some point we will put it all together at the plate. (Andrew) Marble will be going tomorrow with all our best arms behind him to try and win a series."
 
For Little Rock, Ty Rhodes went 2-for-3 with a home run and three RBI. Nico Baumbach also homered, going 1-for-4 with an RBI. Brigden Parker (1-2) pitched 6.0 innings, allowing one run on four hits to earn the win on the mound for the Trojans. Tag Andrews pitched the final 3.0 innings, giving up just one hit to pick up his first save of the season.
 
Little Rock struck first in the top of the first inning. Kade Smith doubled to lead off the inning and later scored from third base on a ground out by Easton Roe for a 1-0 Little Rock lead.
 
The score remained 1-0 until the top of the sixth inning when the Trojans struck for four runs. Rodes hit a three-run home run to right field for a 4-0 Little Rock lead. Baumbach followed that up with a solo home run to right field to make the score 5-0. Samford struck for its lone run of the game in the bottom of the sixth inning when Higgins hit a solo home run to left field to make the score 5-1.
 
The teams will conclude the series with a game Sunday at 1 p.m. at Joe Lee Griffin Field. The game can be seen live on ESPN+ and live stats will also be available. For links to follow Samford baseball this season, click on the following link: 2026 SCHEDULE.
 
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