BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The Samford baseball team hit six home runs, including three by Hunter Swilling to take a 17-2 victory over Murray State in the first game of a three-game series Friday night at Joe Lee Griffin Field.
 
"This was a good win," Samford head coach Casey Dunn said. "We came out with a good first inning and that set the tone for the evening. We drove the ball well tonight. We were able to hit some balls hard early, and the guys who had opportunities late came in and had good at-bats as well. It was really just a good team effort tonight."
 
Swilling went 3-for-4 and drove in six runs off of his three homers. The three home runs are the most in a single game in the 11-year Dunn era. In addition to Swilling, T.J. Dixon, Alex Lee and Damon Waller had a home run each. Lee went 3-for-4 with two RBI, Dixon went 2-for-4 with an RBI, and Waller turned in a 1-for-3 performance with an RBI. Frankie Navarrete, Richard Greene and Gregory Mula also had two hits each.
 
Alex Ledford (4-3) pitched 7.0 innings, giving up two runs on four hits to earn the win on the mound for Samford. Ledford struck out eight batters and allowed just one walk. Wyatt Burns pitched the final 2.0 innings, allowing no hits, striking out five batters and walking just one.
 
For Murray State, Pokey Harris drove in the Racers' two runs, going 1-for-3 at the plate. John Lollar (1-3) pitched 3.0 innings, giving up 10 runs on eight hits to take the loss on the mound for the Racers.
 
Samford got off to a fast start, plating four runs in the first inning. Dixon led the inning off with a triple to right field. Swilling then homered to center field for a 2-0 Samford lead. Lee hit another two-run homer later in the inning to make the score 4-0.
 
The Bulldogs added three runs in the second inning and three more in the third to push their lead to 10-0. In the second inning, Swilling hit a three-run homer to left field. In the third inning, Waller hit a solo home run for the inning's first run. Navarrete and Heath Quinn later drove in a run each for a 10-run Samford advantage.
 
Samford plated a run in the fifth inning and three more in the sixth to make the score 14-0. The run in the fifth inning was scored on a solo home run by Dixon. In the sixth inning, Danny Rodriguez drove in two runs and Greene drove in one run.
 
Murray State put its two runs on the scoreboard in the top of the seventh inning. Harris doubled down the left-field line to drive in Nick Moore and Derek Yoder to cut the Samford lead to 14-2.
 
The Bulldogs plated three final runs in the bottom of the seventh inning to make the final score 17-2. Swilling homered to lead off the inning. Gonzalez and Grant Colton drove in a run each later in the inning for the game's final two runs.
 
With the win, Samford improves to 15-17 on the season. Murray State falls to 14-20 with the loss.
 
The teams will continue their series with a game Saturday at 2 p.m. The game can be heard locally on WVSU-FM 91.1, or worldwide on the internet at www.samford.edu/wvsu. The contest can also be viewed online via the SoCon Digital Network at www.socondigitalnetwork.com/samford. Live stats will also be available at www.samfordsports.com.