GREENVILLE, S.C. – Despite an early home run by David Wiley, the No. 5 Wofford baseball team surrendered 10 runs over four frames to No. 2 Samford to drop a 10-1 decision Saturday afternoon at Fluor Field in the 2024 Southern Conference Baseball Championship presented by Holston Gases. Wofford falls to 38-18 with Samford improving to 36-20.
 
Wofford utilized four pitchers in the contest with the second, Champ Davis (3-1), suffering the loss. He allowed two runs on two hits and two walks in an inning of work. Mason Compton started with just one run allowed in 4.0 frames of action. He gave up four hits with no walks and two batters struck out.
 
Samford starter Miller Riggins (2-1) picked up the win after 6.0 innings with just a run surrendered on four hits and a walk.
 
The Terriers were held to just five hits in the game with Daniel Jackson leading the way with a pair of them. One was a triple, and he added a walk to reach base three total times, pushing his on-base streak to 45 games. Brice Martinez, David Wiley and Tyler Hare each tallied the other Terrier base knocks. Hare recorded a double and a walk to reach twice. Wiley launched a solo home run that traveled 410 feet to record the lone Wofford run and RBI.
 
After both teams went scoreless in the first, Wofford jumped in front with a run in the top of the second. David Wiley led the inning off by crushing a solo shot over the Green Monster in left field that bounced off the office building beyond the wall. Despite being impeded by the building, the ball was tracked as traveling 410 feet to gift the Terriers an early 1-0 lead.
 
Samford threatened to respond in the bottom of the inning with a lead-off double, but Mason Compton induced three-straight grounders to leave the Bulldog runner stranded at third. Wofford held onto its 1-0 edge.
 
The Bulldogs did break onto the scoreboard in the next frame with a run in the bottom of the third. With runners on the corners and two outs, Samford hit a grounder into the hole between third and short that Jack Renwick snared on a dive. But the runner just beat his throw to first, and the infield single plated the tying run to level the score at 1-1.
 
Samford claimed the lead with a pair of runs in the bottom of the fifth. A passed ball brought home the go-ahead tally, and later in the frame a double to left pushed one more runner home. But the damage was limited there as a perfect relay in from Adam Haber cut down another runner who rounded third too much for out three. However, Samford was ahead 3-1.
 
The Bulldogs stretched their lead with three more runs in the bottom of the sixth. A wild pitch plated the first, and later a bases-loaded single pushed across two more. Michael Sills limited the damage by inducing a double play, but Samford had pushed its advantage to 6-1.
 
A solo home run in the bottom of the seventh pushed the Bulldog lead to 7-1.
 
Samford plated three more runs in the eighth, and though the Terriers loaded the bases in the top of the ninth, Wofford was unable to push any runs across. The Bulldogs picked up a 10-1 victory to advance in the tournament with Wofford dropping to the losers' bracket.
 
The Terriers will play again tonight in a do-or-die game, which will start no earlier than 7:00 p.m. Wofford will face the victor of the elimination contest between No. 3 ETSU and No. 7 Mercer, which started after the conclusion of Wofford's game.