BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The Samford baseball team completed its series sweep of USC Upstate with a 9-6 win on Senior Day Sunday afternoon at Joe Lee Griffin Field.
 
With the win, Samford improved its record to 23-19. USC Upstate fell to 19-26 with the loss.
 
Prior to the game, seniors Drew Druckenmiller, Trey Higgins, Jeffrey Ince, Joseph Lee, Parker McDonald, Hayden Perry, Trey Sanders and John Whitney were honored in Senior Day ceremonies.
 
For Samford in the win, Cade Carr went 3-for-4 with a home run and an RBI. Gus Gandy went 3-for-4 with a double and an RBI, while Luke Boykin went 2-for-3. Ince homered and drove in three runs in a 1-for-3 performance at the plate.
 
"We had some big swings," Samford head coach Tony David said. "Cade got that blast and then Ince has had so many balls go off the wall or off the top of the wall that we thought were going to get out and I joked with him that he finally got the coordinates right today."
 
Noah Berry started the game on the mound for Samford, tossing 5.0 innings, giving up three runs on three hits. Druckenmiller (1-1) earned the win on the mound, pitching 1.0 inning, allowing three runs on one hit. Sanders and John Malone pitched an inning each in relief without allowing a run. Zak Spurrier picked up his sixth save of the season, tossing the final inning, giving up no runs on one hit.
 
For USC Upstate, Maloy Heaghney and Wylie Waters each homered in the loss. Brent Stukes (4-3) pitched 5.1 innings, allowing eight runs on eight hits to take the loss on the mound for the Spartans.
 
Samford jumped on top early with four runs in the bottom of the first inning. With two outs in the inning, Carr hit a solo home run to left-center field for the game's first run. Ince later hit a three-run home run to right field to give Samford a 4-0 lead.
 
USC Upstate plated a run in the second inning and two more in the third to cut the lead to 4-3. In the bottom of the fifth inning, Gandy scored on a ground out by Jake Souders to push the lead to 5-3. In the top of the sixth inning, USC Upstate's Waters hit a three-run home run to give the Spartans a 6-5 lead.
 
"They did a good job of answering with one and two spots, but I told the guys on the field afterward, our league is so talented and one of the things that are difference makers is the ability to respond," David said. "They punched us in the mouth with that three-run shot after leading the whole time and if you've got a championship mentality, you've got to be able to answer there."
 
Samford answered with four runs in the bottom of the sixth inning to take the lead for good at 9-6. Perry doubled to drive in Ince and Boykin for the first two runs of the inning. Gandy later singled to drive in Perry, and Pierce Dutton singled to drive in Gandy for the game's final run.
 
Next up, Samford will host in-state rival Jacksonville State on Tuesday, April 28. The game is set for a 6 p.m. start from Joe Lee Griffin Field.
 
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