GREENVILLE, S.C. – The third-seeded Samford baseball team earned a 5-1 win in a 13-inning game that included a nearly three-hour rain delay, over second-seeded Western Carolina in the semifinals of the Southern Conference Tournament Friday at Fluor Field.
With the win, Samford improved its record to 31-24 and the Bulldogs will take on The Citadel in the SoCon Tournament championship game Saturday at 6:30 p.m. (CT) and the game can be seen live on ESPNU. This marks the fourth-straight year Samford has played in the tournament championship game. Western Carolina ends its season with a mark of 36-23.
The teams went into the 13
th inning tied at 1-1. In the top of the inning,
Gus Gandy walked to lead off the inning. With one out in the inning,
Jeffrey Ince was hit by a pitch.
Jackson Harris then hit a three-run home run down the right-field line to give Samford a 4-1 lead. With two outs in the inning,
Luke Boykin hit his team-leading 20
th homer of the season to make the score 5-1.
Samford pitcher
Zak Spurrier (4-3) then held the Catamounts scoreless in the bottom of the 13
th to close out the win. Spurrier earned the win for Samford, pitching 2.0 innings, allowing no runs on just one hit.
Mason Blasche started the game on the mound, pitching 6.2 strong innings, allowing one run on seven hits and striking out six batters.
John Malone pitched 4.1 innings, allowing no runs on two hits.
For Samford at the plate, Boykin went 3-for-6 with a home run and one RBI. Harris went 1-for-2 with a home run and three RBI.
Jake Souders doubled and drove in a run for the Bulldogs as well.
For Western Carolina, Cameron Murray went 4-for-5 with an RBI. Mason Snyder (7-2) pitched 3.1 innings, allowing four runs on three hits to take the loss on the mound for WCU.
Samford got the scoring started with a run in the top of the first inning. Souders doubled to left-center field to drive in Ince for a 1-0 Samford lead. Western Carolina knotted the score at 1-1 with a run in the bottom of the seventh inning. Murray singled to drive in Brody Raleigh for the Catamounts' lone run of the contest.
The championship game is set for a 6:30 p.m. (CT) start Saturday evening and the contest can be seen live on ESPNU. 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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@SamfordBaseball (Twitter).
