GREENSBORO, NC Samford tallied 24 runs in two games, as UNC Greensboro lost both games of a twin bill on Sunday afternoon at the UNCG Baseball Stadium, falling 9-7 in game one and dropping game two, 15-3.
David Schulze paced Samford at the plate as he went a combined 5-8 in the two games with seven RBI, five runs scored and two home runs.
Brad Raynor, who pinch hit in game one and got his first career start in game two, went 3-4 on the afternoon with three RBI, two runs scored and a home run for UNCG.
The Spartans fell to 7-13 on the season and 0-7 in the SoCon, while the Bulldogs moved to 10-15 this year and 6-6 in league action.
Samford scored four runs in the top half of the first inning in game one to jump out to the early lead. The bulldogs had four hits in the inning, including a two-run double by Schulze, who later scored on a balk.
The Bulldogs extended their lead to 6-0 in the fourth inning thanks to a home run by Schulze. Stephen Ballard struck out, but advanced to first on a wild pitch and two batters later Schulze took a pitch deep to center for his third home run of the season.
Samford would go on to jump out to an 8-1 advantage before the Spartans began to rally late. Pedro Leon hit a solo shot out to left to narrow the score to 8-2, but the Bulldogs would get that run back in the top of the eighth to make the score 9-2.
Down by seven in the bottom of the eighth, the Spartans refused to go down without a fight. Ed Jayjack led off the inning with a single and Jacob Golliday followed suit with a single of his own. After a pitching change for Samford, Brent O'Berry hit a double to left center to clear the bases and make the score 9-4. Pinch hitter Brad Raynor delivered a single to left to score O'Berry. After an Alex Frederick single, Corey Overholtzer hit a triple to center field to plate Raynor and Frederick and narrow the score to 9-7.
In the ninth inning, the Spartans continued to rally, but fell just short. With one out, Golliday was issued his third walk of the game to get on base. After a line out, Raymond Frias singled to right to move Golliday to second. Kris Richards then pinch hit and singled through the left side to load the bases with two outs, but the Spartans flied out to second to end the first game.
Game two began the same as game one, as Samford score four runs in the top of the first. Wayne Miller led off the game with a walk and advanced to third after Ballard reached on a throwing error. Miller would score on a passed ball and Ballard scored after Mason Meredeth reached on another Spartan error. Schulze struck again in game two as he hit a two-run home run to right field to give the Bulldogs a 4-0 lead.
The Bulldogs added three more in the third to extend their lead to 7-0. They extended it to 12-0 in the fourth inning after stringing together four singles and a double in the inning as eight Samford players batted in the inning.
The Spartans got on the board in the bottom half of the fourth thanks to a RBI single by Raynor. Golliday and O'Berry led off the inning with back-to-back singles before Frias loaded the bases with a single of his own. After a pop up, Raynor delivered a single up the middle to score Golliday from third to make the score 12-1.
After the Bulldogs extended their lead to 15-2 in the top of the sixth, Raynor struck again. He led off the inning with his first career home run to make the final score 15-3.
The Spartans return to the diamond on Tuesday as they face cross-town rival North Carolina A&T in a special game. The two teams will play at NewBridge Bank Park, which is the home of the Greensboro Grasshoppers, at 6 p.m.
AGATE
Samford 9, UNC Greensboro 7 (Game 1)
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Samford.................... 400 201 110 - 9 12 0 (9-15)
UNC Greensboro...... 000 010 150 - 7 13 1 (7-12)
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Pitchers: UNC Greensboro Greg Smith, Alex Shelton, Zach Furl. Samford David Knapp, Dayne Cutrell, Mark Lewallyn, Kyle Nichols.
Win- David Knapp (3-1) Save- Kyle Nichols (4) Loss- Greg Smith (2-3) T-2:54 A-262
Samford 15, UNC Greensboro 3 (Game 2)
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Samford.................... 403 503 0 - 15 12 0 (10-15)
UNC Greensboro...... 000 111 0 - 3 12 2 (7-13)
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Pitchers: UNC Greensboro Rob Gilliam, Blake Hassebrock, Matt Parish, Adam Daufeldt, Ian Phillips, Warren Slack, Mark Peterson. Samford Andrew Jones, Josh Martin.
Win- Andrew Jones (3-1) Loss- Rob Gilliam (1-3) T-2:33 A-273
- UNCG -
