BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The Samford baseball team swept a doubleheader from USC Upstate, winning the games by scores of 7-5 and 6-1, Friday at Joe Lee Griffin Field.
 
With the wins, Samford improved its record to 22-19 on the season. USC Upstate fell to 19-25 with the losses.
 
Samford was led in game one by Jake Souders, going 3-for-4 with a double, a home run and three RBI. Cade Carr went 3-for-4 with two doubles and an RBI. Jeffrey Ince went 2-for-4 with a triple and an RBI. Eddie Marshall also homered for Samford in game one, going 1-for-3 with two RBI.
 
Joseph Lee (3-0) pitched 5.0 innings, giving up two runs on three hits to earn the win on the mound for Samford. Zak Spurrier pitched the final inning to pick up his fifth save of the season.
 
Samford plated three runs in the first inning, two runs in the second inning and two more in the third inning to take a 7-0 lead. In the first inning, Souders hit a two-run home run and Ince had an RBI single. In the second inning, Souders and Carr each had an RBI double as Samford pushed its lead to 5-0. In the third inning, Marshall hit a two-run home run to left-center field for a 7-0 Samford advantage.
 
USC Upstate plated two runs in the fifth inning and three more runs in the sixth to cut the lead to 7-5. Samford, however, was able to hold the Spartans scoreless the rest of the way to hold on for the 7-5 win.
 
In game two for Samford, Luke Boykin went 2-for-4 with a home run and an RBI. Gus Gandy went 2-for-3 for the Bulldogs, while Pierce Dutton homered, going 1-for-3 with four RBI.
 
Mason Blasche (3-5) pitched 5.0 innings, allowing one unearned run on four hits and striking out seven batters to earn the win for the Bulldogs. Austin Tommasini tossed the final 2.0 innings, giving up just one hit to pick up his third save of the season.
 
After USC Upstate grabbed an early 1-0 lead in the first inning, Samford took the lead for good with three runs in the second inning. Boykin led the inning off with a solo home run. Dutton walked with the bases loaded to give Samford a 2-1 lead. Gandy later scored when Souders reached base on a fielder's choice to make the score 3-1.
 
Samford added three more runs in the eighth inning to make the final score 6-1. Dutton hit a three-run home run to left field for the game's final three runs.
 
The teams will conclude their series with a single 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 all of Samford's games this season, click on the following link: 2026 SCHEDULE.


 
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