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April 17, 2009
Bulldogs Beat UA in Extra-Innings
With two outs in the bottom of the 10th inning, Samford junior outfielder David Schulze singled up the middle to drive in Stephen Ballard and lift the Bulldog baseball team to a 14-13 win over the Alabama Crimson Tide April 15 at Joe Lee Griffin Field.
Samford held a 13-11 lead heading into the ninth inning. After Del Howell was hit by a pitch, Cal Tinsley, who pinch ran for Howell, advanced to second base on a sacrifice bunt by Taylor Dugas. Josh Rutledge then walked and Tinsley advanced to third base on a fly out. Rutledge then stole second base and both runners scored when the throw to second base was kicked into center field to tie the score and force the extra innings.
"This was as resilient an effort as you could have," Samford head coach Casey Dunn said. "You can't ask anything more of the kids than the way they fought and played hard and just continued to score."
Samford was led at the plate by Wayne Miller, going 3-for-6 with a home run, a triple and four RBI. Bo Smith was 3-for-5 with a triple and two RBI, while Ballard was 3-for-6 with an RBI. Schulze finished the night 1-for-5 at the plate with an RBI. Brad Moss also homered in a 1-for-2 performance for Samford. Mason Meredeth extended his current hitting streak to 22 games, going 1-for-5 on the night. Bronson McGriff pitched the final inning for Samford to earn the win and improve to 1-0 on the season. McGriff was one of six pitchers used in the game by the Bulldogs. Josh Martin, Dayne Cutrell, Grant Sides, Mark Lewallyn and Kyle Nichols also saw action on the mound for Samford.
With the win, Samford improves to 13-24 overall. The Bulldogs will return to action on today when they open a three-game Southern Conference series at Western Carolina. The series-opener is scheduled to begin at 5 p.m. (CT) in Cullowhee, N.C.
