CULLOWHEE, N.C. – The Samford baseball team plated five runs in the eighth and ninth innings, but it was not enough as the Bulldogs dropped an 11-9 decision in game two of its series at Western Carolina Saturday afternoon.
 
With the loss, Samford fell to 9-12 overall and 1-1 in Southern Conference play. Western Carolina improved to 16-8 overall and 1-1 in league play.

"This was a good battle today without the final result we wanted," Samford head coach Tony David said. "They really jumped Mason today, a little more than we jumped their guy. To win this league and its tournament you have to be able to hit the ball to and over the fence. We have done a great job of that again as conference play started. Have to pitch some too. Joe Lee gave a masters class on it yesterday and our relievers gave us a chance today. This is series baseball it was important to stay in it and force them to go to their top relievers. Down 11-4 late we get the tying run to the plate in the ninth with a shot. We have a chance tomorrow to win a tough series on the road."

Samford was led in the loss by Jake Souders, going 2-for-4 with two home runs and two RBI. Cade Carr went 3-for-5 with a home run and two RBI. Parker McDonald went 2-for-2 with a home run and two RBI. Trey Higgins also homered in the game, going 1-for-4 with two RBI. As a team, Samford hit five home runs in the game.

 
Mason Blasche (0-5) pitched 1.1 innings, allowing six runs on six hits to take the loss on the mound for Samford. Trey Sanders, Michael Fredette, Will Andre and Palmer O'Beirne also saw time on the mound for Samford.
 
For Western Carolina, Jackson Lyda went 3-for-4 with a double and two RBI. Wyatt Stanley, Trent Turner and Noah Quarless drove in two runs each for the Catamounts. Davis Wright (2-1) pitched 5.0 innings, allowing four runs on seven hits to earn the win on the mound for WCU.
 
Samford got the scoring started in the top of the first inning when Souders hit a solo home run to center field. After Western Carolina plated two runs in the bottom of the first to take a 2-1 lead, Higgins hit a two-run home run in the top of the second inning to give Samford a 3-2 advantage.
 
Western Carolina then pulled away, plating four runs in the second inning, one run in the third inning and two runs in the fourth inning for a 9-3 lead. In the top of the fifth inning, Souders hit his second home run of the game, this one a solo shot to left field to cut the lead to 9-4.
 
The Catamounts added two runs in the bottom of the seventh inning to push the lead to 11-4. Samford plated three runs in the top of the eighth inning to pull to within four runs. The first run scored when Carr scored on a ground out by Luke Boykin. McDonald then hit a two-run home run to make the score 11-7.
 
In the top of the ninth inning, Samford added two final runs to make the final score 11-9. With two outs in the inning, Souders was hit by a pitch. Carr then hit a two-run home run to center field for the game's final two runs.
 
The teams will conclude the series with a game Sunday at 12 p.m. (CT). The game can be seen live on ESPN+ and live stats will also be available. For links to follow all of Samford's games this season, click on the following link: 2026 SCHEDULE.
 
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