April 27, 2008

Box Score

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The Samford baseball team pounded out 16 hits, and pitcher Michael Jarry tossed a complete game, allowing only one run on three hits as the Bulldogs defeated Eastern Illinois, 11-1, in an Ohio Valley Conference contest Sunday afternoon at Joe Lee Griffin Field. The win gives Samford a sweep in the three-game series between the two teams.

Samford improves to 27-15 overall and 13-4 in OVC play with the win. Eastern Illinois drops to 18-23 overall and 9-9 in league play.

"What a great job by Michael today," Samford head coach Casey Dunn said. "The biggest thing he did was not walk anybody. He did a great job of controlling the strike zone and keeping them off balance. Also, we played real well defensively behind him and it just really turned out to be a great day."

For Samford at the plate, Michael Johnson went 3-for-6. Michael Rutledge was 2-for-5 with three RBI. Bill Whitehead, Michael Marseco, Bear Burnett and Tripp Swann had two hits each for Samford as well. Marseco extended his career-long hitting streak to 27 games.

For EIU, Neil Wright, Richie Derbak and Cameron Strang had a hit each. Derbak was also the losing pitcher for the Panthers, pitching 3.0 innings, giving up six runs on eight hits.

After Samford plated a run in the bottom of the second inning, the Bulldogs added four runs in the third inning to take a 5-0 lead. In the third inning, Whitehead, Rutledge, Swann and Marcus Rodriguez drove in a run each for the Bulldogs.

EIU came back with a run in the top of the fourth inning, but Samford answered with two runs in the bottom of the fourth to push its lead to 7-1. Burnett singled to left field to drive in Whitehead for the first Samford run of the inning. Rodriguez then grounded out to first base to bring in Marseco for a six-run Samford lead.

Samford added three more runs in the fifth inning to make the score 10-1. Marseco, Rutledge and Burnett drove in a run each for the Bulldogs in the inning.

Samford plated one final run in the seventh inning to make the final score 11-1. Rutledge singled to center field to drive in Marseco, who had doubled earlier in the inning, for the game's final run.

Samford will return to action on Tuesday, when the Bulldogs play host to the University of Alabama at 6 p.m. The game can be heard locally on WVSU-FM 91.1, or worldwide on the internet at www.samford.edu/groups/wvsu/. Fans can also follow the game on the internet via GameTracker at the link below.

GameTracker For Tuesday