BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The Samford baseball team opened its series with Mercer with a 6-3 loss to the Bears Friday afternoon at Joe Lee Griffin Field.
With the loss, Samford fell to 23-20 overall and 8-5 in Southern Conference play. Mercer improved to 34-12 overall and 8-5 in SoCon action.
"It was a good college baseball game," Samford head coach Tony David said. "They're really good, they're 34-12 for a reason. Overall, we just weren't good enough offensively."
Samford was led in the loss by
Jeffrey Ince, who homered and drove in two runs in a 1-for-3 performance at the plate.
Luke Boykin hit a solo home run for Samford, going 1-for-4.
Cade Carr and
Trey Higgins each went 2-for-4 for the Bulldogs.
Joseph Lee (3-1) pitched 4.1 innings, giving up three runs on seven hits to take the loss on the mound for Samford.
John Whitney and
John Malone also saw time on the mound for the Bulldogs.
For Mercer, Eli Stephens went 4-for-5 with a double, a home run and three RBI. Titan Kamaka, Braydon Kersey and Dylan LaPointe drove in a run each for the Bears. Garrett Lambert (4-0) picked up the win, pitching 6.0 innings, giving up two runs on five hits. Reid Fagerstrom came in to get the final out and earn his first save of the season.
After Mercer took the lead with two runs in the top of the second inning, Samford answered with two runs in the bottom of the inning. Higgins doubled to lead off the inning for Samford. With one out, Ince homered to right field to knot the score at 2-2.
In the top of the third inning, Kamaka had an RBI triple to give the Bears a 3-2 lead. In the top of the seventh inning, Stephens doubled to drive in a run to make it 4-2. In the top of the ninth, Stephens hit a two-run home run to push the lead to 6-2. In the bottom of the ninth for Samford, Boykin hit a solo home run to left-center field to make the final score 6-3.
The teams will continue the series with a game Saturday at 4 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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For the latest news and information on Samford baseball, visit the official website for Samford Athletics at
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