Samford 11, UAB 0
BIRMINGHAM, Ala.-The Samford baseball team plated 11 runs on just six hits in shutting out cross-town rival UAB, 11-0, Wednesday evening at Joe Lee Griffin Field.
"It was a good night for us," Samford head coach Casey Dunn said. "Obviously, they helped us out, but the encouraging thing was we did take our walks and our hit by pitches, but when they threw us strikes, we got some big hits. We had some big hits, and some big two-strike and two-out hits."
Samford batters drew seven walks from the UAB pitchers in the game. UAB's pitchers also hit Samford batters on four different occasions.
Samford was led at the plate by senior catcher Brad Moss, going 2-for-4 with a double and three RBI. With the performance, Moss has now reached base safely in 20 consecutive games.
"I was just looking for my pitch and stayed patient," Moss said. "Both times I had two strikes, so I got to see some pitches, which was good. I like to be patient and get my pitch, and both times I was able to do that."
Designated hitter C.K. Irby went 2-for-4 at the plate for Samford. Center fielder Phillip Ervin hit his seventh home run of the season and drove in three runs in a 1-for-3 performance for the Bulldogs.
Gil Walker (1-1) earned the win on the mound for Samford. Walker pitched 4.0 scoreless innings in relief, allowing four hits, striking out two batters and allowing one walk. Taylor Hammond, Tyler Vanderheiden, Lex Rutledge and Charles Terry also saw time on the mound for Samford.
UAB was led at the plate by Harry Clark, going 3-for-4. Patrick Palmeiro and Keith DePew also had one hit each for the Blazers. Alex Luna (1-1) pitched 3.0 innings, giving up five runs on one hit to take the loss for UAB.
The game was scoreless for the first three innings until Samford broke the game open with four runs in the third inning and four more in the fourth inning.
In the third inning, with one out, Christiaan Durdaller was hit by a pitch. Austin Allison then walked, moving Durdaller to second base. Durdaller then moved to third base and Allison to second base on a wild pitch. Durdaller then scored the game's first run on a ground out by Zeth Stone. After Moss was hit by a pitch, Ervin hit a three-run homer to left-center field to give Samford a 4-0 lead.
For Samford in the fourth inning, Brandon Miller walked to lead off the inning and then moved to second base on a single by Irby. Tommy Corbin then doubled to right-center field to drive in Miller for the first run of the inning. After Durdaller drew a walk, Irby scored from third base on a wild pitch for a six-run Samford lead. With one out in the inning, Stone grounded out to second base to drive in Corbin. The final run of the inning scored when Moss singled through the right side of the infield to drive in Durdaller to make the score 8-0.
The Bulldogs added two runs in the bottom of the sixth inning to make the score 10-0. With one out in the inning, Durdaller was hit by a pitch and Allison walked. Durdaller then advanced to third base and Allison was retired at second base when Stone reached base on a fielder's choice. Moss then doubled to left-center field to drive in Durdaller and Stone for a 10-run Samford lead.
Samford plated one final run in the seventh inning. Miller walked to lead off the inning and then advanced to third base on a double by Irby. After Corbin was hit by a pitch to load the bases, Durdaller hit a sacrifice fly to center field to drive home Miller to make the score 11-0.
The win was Samford's fifth-straight over the Blazers. For the season, Samford improves to 22-15. UAB drops to 21-17 with the loss.
Wednesday night's game was Samford's Strike Out Breast Cancer Night. Samford baseball, along with Bancorp South and ZTA sorority raised money for the ZTA Foundation for breast cancer research. The Samford players wore special hats with a pink SU on them, and special jerseys with pink sleeves. The jerseys were sold at the game, and overall, an estimated $1,700 was raised for the cause.
Samford will return to action on Friday when the Bulldogs play host to Western Carolina in the first game of a three-game Southern Conference series at Joe Lee Griffin Field. The teams will play Friday at 6 p.m. Saturday at 2 p.m. and Sunday at 1 p.m.
Elon 12, High Point 3
ELON, N.C. -- The Elon baseball team jumped out to an early lead and never looked back as it completed the season series sweep of Triad rival High Point with a 12-3 rout at Latham Park on Wednesday.
For the Phoenix (22-17), both Alex Swim (2-for-5, one run, five RBI) and Garrett Koster (1-for-3, one run, three RBI) belted three-run homers and David Whitehead tossed six scoreless innings.
Elon jumped on top in the last of the first when Swim drilled his second homer of the season over the wall in right. It was the first time that Swim had hit a homer at Latham Park and the first of his four career bombs to come in a Phoenix victory.
The maroon and gold exploded for six runs in the second, the highest single-inning output by the Phoenix this season. Casey Jones reached on an error to start the inning before Elon loaded the bases with a walk and bunt single. With one out, Ryan Kinsella picked up a RBI by drawing a walk. Tyler McVicar kept his hot hand at the plate, delivering a two-RBI single through the left side of the infield to make it a 6-0 game. With two outs, Koster ripped his team-leading ninth home run of the season over the wall in left to up the margin to 9-0.
Elon added a single run in the fourth on a Jake Luce double and then tacked on two more in the fifth when Swim doubled.
High Point (22-18) erased the shutout bid with a three-run ninth.
Whitehead (2-2) won as he scattered three hits over his six innings, striking out four. After Whitehead allowed a two-out single to Devin Bujnovsky in the fourth, the Elon pitching staff did not allow another hit until a lead-off single by Andrew Bartlett in the ninth.
Panther starter Adam Pratson (0-1) took the loss as he was charged with five runs on three hits in just one inning.
Elon will get back to Southern Conference play this weekend as the Phoenix visits Wofford for a three-game set. Friday's first pitch is scheduled for 6 p.m.
Rain Washes Out ASU-EKU Series
BOONE, N.C. - Appalachian State University baseball's two-game mid-week series versus Eastern Kentucky has been cancelled due to rain.
Appalachian (25-9, 10-5 SoCon) is working to replace the four games that have been rained out in the last month. Any makeup games will be announced if/when details are finalized.
The first-place Mountaineers return to action on Friday when they open a three-game Southern Conference series versus Furman (18-20, 7-11 SoCon). Game times for the three-game set are slated for 6 p.m. Friday, 3 p.m. Saturday and noon Sunday at ASU's Beaver Field at Jim and Bettie Smith Stadium.
WEDNESDAY FURMAN-WINTHROP GAME POSTPONED, RESCHEDULED FOR MAY 8
GREENVILLE, S.C. -- Furman's Wednesday home baseball game versus Winthrop has been postponed due to wet conditions and rescheduled for Tuesday, May 8 at 6:00 p.m. at Latham Stadium, Paladin head coach Ron Smith announced at 11:45 a.m. ET today.
Coming off a 5-4 road win over 26th-ranked Georgia on Tuesday, Furman (18-20, 7-11 SoCon) will open a three-game Southern Conference series at Appalachian State this Friday at 6:00 p.m.
Rain Washes Out Western Carolina - UNC Asheville Baseball Game
Catamounts travel to Samford for a three-game SoCon series this weekend
Cullowhee, N.C. - Continuing steady rain showers on Wednesday afternoon on an already damp surface at Ronnie G. Childress Field at Hennon Stadium has forced the cancellation of the midweek nonconference baseball game between mountain rivals Western Carolina and UNC Asheville.
No make-up date for the game has been discussed at this time.
Grounds crew and members of the Catamount coaching staff worked throughout the afternoon on portions of the field with all intent to pull the tarp after 5:00 pm to prep for the first pitch around 6:30 pm. However, rain showers on the backend of the massive weather system that swept across the Southeast continued to pop up and thwarted any efforts to regain the field.
Two hours after the original first pitch time, the decision was made to cancel the contest after game officials, umpires and coaching staffs met to survey the outfield situation.
Western Carolina (25-12, 10-5 SoCon) travels to Birmingham, Ala., for a three-game Southern Conference series against the Samford Bulldogs this weekend. First pitch on Friday is scheduled for 6:00 pm ET / 7:00 pm CT, with Saturday's game at 2:00 pm CT / 3:00 pm ET and Sunday afternoon at 1:00 pm CT / 2:00 pm ET.
All three games will be broadcast on the Catamount Sports Network and can be heard online at www.CatamountSports.com.
Wofford Baseball Schedule Change
SPARTANBURG, S.C. - Due to rain, the Wofford baseball game against USC Upstate that was scheduled for Wednesday, April 18, at Harley Park has been postponed. No make-up date for the contest has been announced.
The Terriers will host Elon for a three-game Southern Conference series beginning on Friday night at 6:00 p.m.