BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – On Saturday afternoon, the Wofford College baseball team was defeated 11-3 by Samford at Joe Lee Griffin Field. The Bulldogs had four home runs in the contest, including a grand slam in the fourth inning, to even the weekend series. The rubber match will take place on Sunday at 1:00 p.m. CT.
Wofford is 17-16 overall and 2-6 in the Southern Conference. Samford is 17-14 overall and 4-4 in league play. The Terriers had nine hits in the game, with two each from
McClain Bradley and
Max McDougald. Samford had five players with two hits each, with T.J. Dixon, Hunter Swilling and Austin Edens also driving in two runs.
The Terriers had two runners on base in the top of the first after a walk by
Derek Hirsch and an infield single by
McClain Bradley. In a double steal attempt, Bradley was out at second to end the top half. With two outs, the Bulldogs had back-to-back singles before a strikeout ended the first inning. Both teams were retired in order in the second inning.
Max McDougald opened the third inning with a single up the middle and he moved to second on a sacrifice bunt. With two outs,
Derek Hirsch walked to give Wofford runners on the corners. A strikeout stranded both runners in the middle of the third inning. Samford had two runners on base after an error and a bunt single in the bottom of the third. A wild pitch moved the runners into scoring position and an RBI ground out made it 1-0. A sacrifice fly pushed the score to 2-0 before the end of the inning.
Wofford had a single with two outs in the top of the fourth by
Dylan May, but he was stranded at first. The Bulldogs loaded the bases in the bottom of the fourth with a walk and two infield singles. A home run by Richard Greene to left center cleared the bases for a 6-0 lead. A ground out and two strikeouts ended the fourth inning.
Back-to-back singles by
Max McDougald and
Kody Ruedisili led off the fifth inning for the Terriers. A fly ball advanced the runners and a ground out by
Derek Hirsch scored McDougald for a 6-1 score.
McClain Bradley singled up the middle with two outs to drive in Ruedisili to make it 6-2 in the middle of the fifth. The Bulldogs added a two-run home run by Austin Edens in the bottom of the fifth for an 8-2 advantage. Samford left a pair of runners on base to end the fifth inning.
In the top of the sixth, Wofford was retired in order. Hunter Swilling added a solo home run in the bottom of the sixth to push the lead to 9-2.
Cody Miller led off the seventh with a single and with two outs a triple off the wall in centerfield by
Alec Paradowski made it a 9-3 game at the stretch. The Bulldogs stranded one in the bottom of the seventh after a single.
With one out in the top of the eighth,
Brett Hash singled to right field. A double play ended the top half of the inning for the Terriers. The Bulldogs added a two-run blast to right field by T.J. Dixon to increase the lead to 11-3. At the end of the eighth inning, Samford left runners stranded on the corners. Wofford had the bases loaded with two outs in the top of the ninth after a pair of walks and a hit by pitch. A fly ball ended the game with three Terriers left on base.
Wofford starting pitcher
Adam Scott (3-4) threw five innings with eight runs allowed on eight hits, along with five strikeouts.
Chris Sheehan went two innings with one run allowed on two hits.
Merritt Huber threw two-thirds of an inning and gave up two runs on two hits.
David Ehmen went the final third of an inning with one walk and a strikeout.
Connor Radcliff (2-3) started for Samford and went five innings, giving up two runs on six hits with three strikeouts. Stephen Jones threw three innings with one run allowed on three hits. Jack Rude did not allow a hit in the top of the ninth and struck out one batter.
Wofford concludes the series at Samford at 1:00 p.m. CT on Sunday. A midweek game at Winthrop completes the six-game road swing before returning home to face The Citadel on Friday, April 15.
