Samford Completes Sweep Of 'Breds

Sunday, March 26

Murray, Ky.

1:00 p.m.

Murray State

Samford

3/26/2006 6:00:00 AM | Baseball

Strong pitching was the name of the game this weekend for Samford, and despite a late-inning comeback attempt, host Murray State fell 7-4 this afternoon, getting swept by the Bulldogs in the Ohio Valley Conference-opening series.

Samford (12-12, 3-0 OVC) scored three runs in the top of the third inning before Murray State answered in the bottom half of the inning. Brett Mullins coaxed a one-out walk, then went to second on a single by Seth Hudson. Tyler Pittman walked to load the bases, and Mullins scored when Samford starter David Knapp was called for a balk, closing the gap to 3-1.

Bulldog pitching then came into play, as Knapp retired the side in the fourth, fifth and sixth innings, then relief pitcher Joe McAbee retired the side in the seventh, allowing Samford to get out to a 7-1 lead in the middle of the eighth inning.

In the bottom half of the eighth, Mullins led off with a walk, then Hudson singled him to second. Mullins went to third on a flyout, then scored on a single by Jason Payton, moving Hudson to second. Jamie Leidolf then hit a single just past first base, scoring Hudson, then Austin Swain singled in Payton to close out the scoring at 7-4.

Murray State (7-17, 0-3 OVC) had seven hits in today's game ? two through the first six innings ? and hit .172 against Samford in all three games. Hudson, who went 3-for-5 today, went 6-for-12 against the Bulldogs in the series. Swain, who went 2-for-4 today, was 3-for-10 against Samford in the series, and the rest of the team was 6-for-65 (.092) this weekend.

"I'm disappointed, but no more so than our players are," said MSU head coach Rob McDonald. "We will spend this week making adjustments. We're in kind of a funk right now, and aren't going to the plate with confidence, but that can change quickly. That's baseball."

Andrew Bishop (1-2, 0-1 OVC) took the loss for Murray State, allowing four runs on five hits, striking out seven and walking three in five innings. West Harris came on in the sixth, allowing three runs (two earned) on five hits, walking two in three innings. Charlie Wade pitched the ninth inning, allowing one hit, but facing the minimum three batters.

Knapp (3-1, 1-0 OVC) got the win, allowing one run on two hits, striking out nine and walking four in six innings. McAbee came on in the seventh, allowing two runs on one hit, striking out one and walking one in 1-1/3 innings, while Joseph Edens closed out the game, allowing one run on four hits, walking one in 1-2/3 innings.

Parker Gargis led the Samford offense with three hits, including a triple, and three runs batted in.

In the field, first baseman Leidolf had a co-game-high 10 putouts, while shortstop Justin Yount had a co-game-high five assists. For Samford, first baseman Louis Rojas had 10 putouts, while second baseman Trey Moody had five assists.

Murray State pitching allowed only 13 earned runs (4.3 per game) in the series and struck out 17 Samford batters with only eight strikeouts in the 25 innings.

The 'Breds host Evansville on Tuesday at 2 p.m. at MSU's Reagan Field. After that game, Murray State has only nine home games of the 29 remaining contests.