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BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- The Samford University baseball team will play its fifth game in eight days Tuesday as the Bulldogs move right into the full swing of their 2016 campaign with an in-state home showdown against the Troy Trojans set to begin at 6 p.m. (CST) and held at Joe Lee Griffin Field.
 
Samford (7-5) heads into the matchup eager to return home where the Bulldogs boast a 6-3 record this season. Over the weekend, Samford competed on the road for the first time this year and played to a 1-2 record at ULM. The Bulldogs won the second matchup of the three-game series, 10-2, but dropped the opener and rubber game, 5-2, and 6-4, respectively.
 
BULLDOGS RACKING UP DOUBLE-DIGIT SCORING PERFORMANCES
Already this season, Samford has tallied six double-digit scoring performances and has scored a total of 93 runs. The Bulldogs are averaging 7.8 runs per game this year and have accumulated performances of 16, 14, 13, 12 and 10 (twice) runs scored in outings this season.
 

Individually, Samford's Heath Quinn, who is one of the team's three Preseason All-Americans, leads the team with 16 runs scored in 2016.
 
BULLDOGS' QUINN IN THE NATIONAL RANKINGS
Category, Rank (Value)
Home Runs, #1 (31)
Total Bases, #1 (53)
Runs Batted In, #1 (24)
Home Runs Per Game, #1 (0.67)
Runs Batted In Per Game, #1 (2.0)
Slugging Percentage, #2 (1.039)
Hits, #10 (22)
Runs, #16 (16)
 
WINNING BIG HAS BEEN THE TREND
The Bulldogs have outscored their opponents by a total of 93-44 this season, for a run differential of 49. In its seven wins throughout the 2016 campaign, Samford is averaging a nine-run margin of victory. Conversely, in the Bulldogs' five losses this season, the margin of victory has only been 2.8 runs.
 
SCOUTING THE COMPETITION
Troy (8-5) opened its 2016 campaign with seven straight wins before finally suffering a defeat at Southeastern Louisiana, 7-2, on March 28. The Trojans began the season with a four-game sweep of Northern Kentucky, in which Troy outscored the Norse by a total of 25-6.
 
The Trojans then tallied a 2-1 home victory over UAB on Feb. 24, before taking two straight games from Southeast Louisiana on the road, 3-2 and 5-1.
 
After defeating Auburn, 4-3, on Friday, Troy dropped back-to-back, neutral-site contests against Southern Miss, 6-2, and Michigan State, 3-0.
 
The Trojans' leading hitter this season is sophomore infielder Matt Sanders, who is batting .367 with seven runs scored and five RBI. He has also posted three stolen bases and a pair of doubles in 13 games.
 
Pitching-wise, Troy's Cory Gill will be getting the start Tuesday against Samford. Gill, the Trojans' true freshman from Cottonwood, has already started two games this season and boasts a miniscule 0.87 earned run average. Gill ranks second on the team with 15 strikeouts and has only allowed one earned run.
 

BULLDOGS' RECORD AGAINST TROY - - THE DUNN ERA
Samford and Troy will be meeting for the 23^rd time since Head Coach Casey Dunn took the reins to the Bulldog program in 2004 on Tuesday. Last season, the teams split a pair of games as the Trojans currently hold a slight 13-9 advantage in the Dunn Era.
 
On Feb. 24, 2015, Samford dropped a 6-0 decision at Troy, but then bounced back in resounding fashion on April 14, 2015, by posting a 13-2 advantage at home at Joe Lee Griffin Field.
 
SAMFORD'S PLAYER OF THE WEEK - - AUSTIN EDENS
Last week, in games against UAB and ULM, the Bulldogs' Austin Edens registered a team-high .389 batting average, while bombing two home runs and driving in five RBI. Edens, Samford's talented sophomore from Baton Rouge, Louisiana, also scored six runs and finished the weekend with 14 total bases.
 
Edens concluded the week with an impressive .778 slugging percentage, as well as a .389 on-base percentage. Against cross-town rival UAB on Tuesday, Edens blasted a pair of home runs and tallied four RBI on a 3-for-5 performance at the plate. He also turned in another 3-for-5 outing Saturday at ULM, as he scored a trio of runs and tallied an RBI in Samford's 10-2 victory against the Warhawks.
 
Edens hit safely in three of the Bulldogs' four games last week and finished the seven-day stretch with a team-high batting average of .389. He has started all 12 games this season and is ranked second on the team with a .373 batting average. Edens also boasts five home runs, 14 RBI and 12 runs scored this season.
 

SAMFORD PLAYERS IN THE NATIONAL RANKINGS
Along with Quinn, the Bulldogs also boast Richard Greene, Jared Brasher, Edens, Hunter Swilling and T.J. Dixon in the national statistical rankings. Brasher, Samford's hard-throwing right handed starting pitcher, is ranked first in the nation with a 0.00 earned run average, while Greene is listed eighth in doubles with seven.
 
Additionally, the Bulldogs' Edens is ranked eighth in the nation in home runs (5) and 12^th in the country in total bases (39).
 
Samford's Swilling owns six doubles this season and is ranked No. 16 in the nation in the category, while Dixon is listed 19^th in triples with two.
 
RARIFIED AIR - - SAMFORD BOASTS TWO OF NATION'S TOP FIVE HOME RUN HITTERS
The Bulldogs' Edens and Swilling entered the 2016 campaign as two of the top five returning home run hitters in the nation from last season. Both of Samford's sluggers powered 16 homers in 2015 as the Bulldogs led the nation in dingers for a predominant portion of the season with a school-record 85.
 
Joining Samford's Edens and Swilling in the top-five list for returning home run hitters this year were Eastern Kentucky's Kyle Nowlin (19), Florida's JJ Schwarz (18) and Mercer's Kyle Lewis (17).
 

SAMFORD'S PITCHER OF THE WEEK - - TRISTAN WIDRA
The Bulldogs' Tristan Widra earned the victory at ULM on Saturday as he hurled five complete innings and only allowed one earned run on four hits allowed. He also tallied a career-high seven strikeouts in the win and finished the week with a solid 1.80 earned run average.
 
Widra owns a perfect 2-0 record on the season and has tallied 15 strikeouts in 15 innings this year. He currently leads the team in both strikeouts and innings pitched.
 
SAMFORD IN THE NATIONAL RANKINGS
Category, Rank (Value)
Doubles, #7 (31)
Home Runs, #9 (17)
Slugging Percentage, #10 (.528)
Home Runs Per Game, #11 (1.42)
Hits, #13 (135)
Doubles Per Game, #19 (2.58)
Runs, #25 (93)
 
PLENTY OF EXPERIENCE
Samford returned all nine position starters and two starting pitchers from last year and tallied a league-high seven players on the preseason all-conference teams.
 
The Bulldogs, who have played in four of the last five Southern Conference Tournament title games, placed a league-high seven players on the two preseason squads, including a SoCon-best four on the first team. Samford paced the conference in preseason picks for the second straight year and were the coaches' preseason pick to win the league.
 
WHAT'S COMING UP NEXT?
Following Tuesday's in-state duel with Troy, the Samford University baseball team will next be in action Friday at 6 p.m. (CST) as the Bulldogs begin a three-game road series against the Southern Miss Golden Eagles to be held at Pete Taylor Park in Hattiesburg, Mississippi.
 
For quick score updates, breaking news and links to all of your favorite articles featuring the Bulldogs, please follow @SamfordBaseball and @Samford_Sports on Twitter.

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