May 21, 2008

PADUCAH, Ky.--The Samford baseball team will open the 2008 Ohio Valley Conference Tournament against Eastern Illinois Thursday afternoon at 2:30 p.m. at Brooks Stadium.

Samford (33-21, 19-7 OVC) enters the tournament as the No. 2 seed, and the Bulldogs received a bye for Wednesday's opening round. In the regular season, Samford set a program record for regular-season wins with 33, and the Bulldogs are just one win away from tying the school's record for wins in a season.

In Thursday's game, Samford will take one fourth-seeded Eastern Illinois (24-28, 13-13 OVC). Samford won the regular season series with the Panthers, taking the games by scores of 5-2, 2-0 and 11-1. In Wednesday's opening round, EIU defeated Tennessee Tech by a score of 4-1.

Through its first four seasons in the OVC, Samford has a record of 7-6 in OVC Tournament games. This season marks Samford's fourth appearance in the tournament in five years. In 2004, Samford was 2-2 in the tournament. The Bulldogs were 2-2 in tournament play again in 2006, and they were 3-2 in the tournament last year. Under head coach Casey Dunn, Samford is 5-4 in the OVC Tournament.

Samford's all-time Division I postseason record is 9-14. Samford competed in the Atlantic Sun Conference from 1983 until joining the OVC prior to the 2004 season. This season will mark Samford's final season in the OVC, as the Bulldogs will be moving to the Southern Conference next season.

The OVC held its annual Baseball Awards Banquet Tuesday night. Samford junior short stop Michael Marseco was named the league's Co-Player of the Year, along with Jacksonville State's Clay Whittemore. Marseco was also named to the first-team All-Conference team for the third year in a row.

For the season, Marseco ranked second in the OVC in batting (.407 avg.), hits (88) and total bases (125). He is also tied the third in the league in triples with five.

Marseco, who was a Freshman All-American in 2006, was also named first-team All-OVC for the third year in a row.

During the season, Marseco set a Samford record with 88 hits, and he had a school-record 29-game hitting streak. His .407 batting average is the highest at Samford since baseball was re-instated in the early 1980s.

Three Samford players were named second-team All-OVC. Senior catcher Bear Burnett, senior designated hitter Michael Rutledge and junior starting pitcher Jonathan Stephens were all named second-team All-Conference. Also, freshman second baseman Michael Johnson was named to the league's All-Freshman team.

Burnett, who moved to catcher this season after playing the last three seasons in the outfield, batted .307 with a team-high seven home runs. He also ranked third on the team in RBI with 45, and he was tied for third on the squad in doubles with 12.

Burnett enters the OVC Tournament with 52 career doubles, tying the Samford career record in the category.

Rutledge, who transferred to Samford this season after three years at Mississippi State, was second on the team in batting with a .346 average. He leads the team in doubles with 14, and in RBI with 51.

Rutledge's RBI total of 51 ranks fifth in the OVC. He also ranks third in the league in RBI per game with an average of 1.04 per contest.

Stephens was the leader of the Samford pitching staff this season, posting a record of 7-0 with a 2.22 ERA. He only walked 13 batters in 81.0 innings of work.

Stephens ranks second in the OVC in individual pitching with his 2.22 ERA, second only to league Pitcher of the Year Christian Friedrich. He also ranks second in the league in innings pitched per game (6.75 pg.), and he is tied for second in shutouts (one). Stephens' seven wins ties him for third in the conference.

Johnson ranked fourth on the team in hitting with a .326 batting average. He posted 10 doubles and 27 RBI on the season for the Bulldogs.

All of Samford's games in the double-elimination tournament can be heard locally on WVSU-FM 91.1, or worldwide on the internet at www.samford.edu/groups/wvsu/. Fans can also follow Thursday's game live on the internet via GameTracker at the link below.

GameTracker For Thursday's Game