Stephens' Complete Game Leads Baseball Past Rider, 3-1 :: Jonathan Stephens pitched 9.0 innings, giving up no earned runs to earn the win

March 14, 2008

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - Samford's Jonathan Stephens pitched a complete game, giving up no earned runs on eight hits to lead the Bulldog baseball team to a 3-1 win over Rider in the first game of a three-game series Friday evening at Joe Lee Griffin Field.

"Jonathan did a great job of throwing strikes," Samford head coach Casey Dunn said. "He had great command of the strike zone on both sides of the plate. And, the three times they had lead-off singles, he was able to get them to ground into double plays."

The performance was Stephens' first complete game of his Samford career and the first complete game by any Samford pitcher this season.

"Everything was working today," Stephens said. "You can't really ask for more than that. The three double plays that the defense turned behind me were big."

For Samford at the plate, Wayne Miller, Tripp Swann and Marcus Rodriguez drove in a run each.

Rider was led at the plate by James Hayes, Mo Williams and Jon Leise with two hits each. Mike Petrowski pitched the complete game for the Broncs, giving up just two earned runs on six hits to take the loss on the mound.

Samford plated a run in the bottom of the third inning to take a 1-0 lead. Bear Burnett scored from third base when Miller reached base on a fielder's choice.

Samford pushed its lead to 3-0 with two runs in the bottom of the fourth inning. Swann singled through the right side of the infield to drive in Michael Rutledge for the first run of the inning. Rodriguez later doubled down the right-field line to drive in Swann for a three-run Samford lead.

Rider plated a run in the top of the seventh inning to make the score 3-1. John Ralston scored when Hayes reached base on an infield single for the Broncs' lone run of the game.

With the win, Samford improves to 7-6, while Rider drops to 6-3.

The teams will play again Saturday at 1 p.m., and Sunday, also at 1 p.m. at Joe Lee Griffin Field. Fans can follow Saturday's and Sunday's games via GameTracker at the links below.

Live Stats For Saturday

Live Stats For Sunday