Ninth-Inning Rally Lifts Baseball Over Miami Of Ohio, 6-5 :: The Bulldogs plated four runs in the bottom of the ninth inning for the win

March 8, 2008

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - Samford's Marcus Rodriguez singled to center field to drive in two runs in the bottom of the ninth inning to lift the Bulldog baseball team to a 6-5, come-from-behind win over Miami of Ohio Saturday afternoon at Joe Lee Griffin Field.

Rodriguez's single, which drove in Michael Rutledge and Michael Marseco, capped a four-run rally in the ninth inning for the Bulldogs. Marseco and Rutledge had each driven in a run earlier in the inning.

For Samford (4-5) at the plate, Marseco was 3-for-4 with an RBI. Rodriguez went 2-for-5 with two RBI. Rutledge went 2-for-3 with an RBI, and Tripp Swann was 2-for-4 for the Bulldogs.

Andrew Jones pitched the final 5.2 innings, giving up two runs on two hits and striking out four batters to earn his first win as a Bulldog.

"It was a terrific ninth inning offensively," Samford head coach Casey Dunn said. "I think the key to the game was Andrew Jones. He came in and went five-plus innings and really kept us in the game. When we made mistakes defensively, he was able to pitch around them."

Miami (1-5) was led at the plate by Jon Edgington, going 2-for-4 for the Redhawks. Tommy Nurre, Chris Nadeau and Blake Chaffee drove in a run each for Miami.

Miami jumped on top first with two runs in the top of the third inning. Nurre hit a sacrifice fly to drive in Evan Armitage for the game's first run. Edgington scored the inning's final run on a balk for a 2-0 Redhawk lead.

The Redhawks added another run in the fourth inning to make the score 3-0. Adam Eaton scored on a Samford error for a three-run Miami lead.

Samford cut the lead to 3-2 with two runs in the bottom of the fourth inning. Rodriguez scored when John Morgan reached base on a fielder's choice to make the score 3-1. Alex Godshall later reached base on an infield single to drive in Swann to cut the Miami lead to one run.

The Redhawks plated a run in the seventh inning and another in the ninth to push their lead to 5-2 and set the stage for the Bulldogs' late comeback.

The teams will wrap up the weekend series with a doubleheader Sunday at 12 p.m. Sunday's doubleheader can be heard locally on WVSU-FM 91.1, or worldwide on the internet at www.samford.edu/groups/wvsu/.