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BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- The Samford University baseball team will conclude its four-game homestand Tuesday at 6 p.m. (CDT) as the Bulldogs square off against the hot-red Alabama State Hornets in a marquee midweek matchup to be held at Joe Lee Griffin Field.
 
Samford (18-14) comes into the contest with a full head of steam after taking two straight victories from Wofford in its three-game home series over the weekend. After dropping a hard-fought 4-3 decision in 10 innings Friday, the Bulldogs bounced back and battled to consecutive Southern Conference wins against the Terriers, 11-3 and 6-0, on Saturday and Sunday, respectively.
 
Samford heads into Tuesday's game boasting a 13-7 record at home this season. The Bulldogs have been triumphant in five of their last seven games held at The Griff, including an 8-4 record in Birmingham dating back to March 1.
 
All nine of Samford's position starters are batting at least .288 this season. The Bulldogs' right fielder Heath Quinn leads the team with a solid .346 batting average. Quinn, the nation's leading home run hitter this season with 14, has reached base safely in 27-consecutive games dating back to Feb. 26. Additionally, Quinn has already registered 47 RBI this year and has compiled 15 multiple-RBI games.
 
The Bulldogs' leadoff batter T.J. Dixon also owns an impressive streak of his own as the Mobile native has reached base safely in 26 straight outings, including a current 10-game hitting streak.
 
Samford's starting pitcher Tuesday will be junior right-hander Mikhail Cazanenave. The Bulldogs' native of Rainbow City has started in each of the last three midweek games for Samford. He currently owns an 0-1 record this season, as well as a 14.09 earned-run average.
 
SCOUTING THE COMPETITION
Alabama State (23-12) enters Tuesday's contest as one of the hottest teams in the nation. The
Hornets boast an immaculate 15-0 record in Southwestern Athletic Conference play this season and are in the midst of a brilliant seven-game winning streak.
 
Since losing on the road at Jacksonville State on March 30, 7-1, Alabama State has rattled off consecutive victories against Alabama A&M (SWAC series sweep), No. 28-ranked South Alabama, 12-7, and Jackson State (SWAC series sweep).
 
The Hornets showcase an impressive 15-4 record at home this season and are 7-7 when playing on the road. Samford handed Alabama State one of its rare losses at home this year, 18-7, on March 15.
 
Already this season, the Hornets have hit 37 home runs in 35 games, one shy of last year's total in 50 games. Carlos Ocasio's 10 home runs leads the SWAC and is the most in the Alabama State program since Selmon Pearson's 10 in 2005.
 
The Hornets are undefeated in April (7-0) and are hitting .350 as a team with 14 home runs among 37 extra-base hits. Alabama State has scored at least 10 runs in five of seven games this month and have scored 87 runs in April.
 
On April 5, the Hornets' victory over South Alabama marked the third straight season that they have defeated a ranked opponent (#4 Miami, 2014; #17 Cal-State Fullerton 2015).
 
BULLDOGS' RECORD AGAINST ALABAMA STATE - - THE DUNN ERA
Since Head Coach Casey Dunn took the reins to the Bulldogs' baseball program in 2004, Samford has compiled a 4-1 record against Alabama State.
 
Last season, the teams squared off twice in a home-and-home series with the Bulldogs winning both of the matchups. On March 24, 2015, Samford earned a 12-6 road victory in Montgomery before coming back home to notch a 6-2 win against the Hornets in a duel held in Birmingham.
 
Earlier this season, in a road game at Alabama State on March 15, the Bulldogs rallied for a key 18-7 victory held at ASU's Wheeler-Watkins Baseball Complex.
 
SAMFORD AT ALABAMA STATE - - THIS YEAR'S FIRST MATCHUP
On March 15, Samford reeled off 15 hits en route to an 18-7 road victory over the Alabama State Hornets in a key non-conference matchup held at the ASU's Wheeler-Watkins Baseball Complex.
 
Heading into the top of the sixth inning, Samford trailed Alabama State, 5-4. The Bulldogs went on to tally four unearned runs during a two-out rally that broke the game open and allowed Samford to cruise to its midweek triumph.
 
With two outs, the Bulldogs' Danny Rodriguez reached base on a throwing error by Alabama State's shortstop Oscar Prioleau. Senior catcher Richard Greene then singled to right field and Samford loaded the basis when Troy Dixon was hit by a pitch. Next up, the Bulldogs' T.J. Dixon battled his way to a clutch, nine-pitch walk to score Rodriguez from third base and tie the score at 5-5.
 
Samford's Hunter Swilling then made Alabama State pay as he rifled a base-clearing double into left-center field to give the Bulldogs an 8-5 advantage on the road. Swilling reached third base on the play, but was only attributed with a double and two RBI after the Hornets' Ocasio committed a fielding error.
 
Upon taking the lead in the sixth inning, Samford never looked back in victory. The Bulldogs' Austin Edens powered a huge, 450-foot grand slam in the top of the eighth inning, and then Samford tacked on six more scores in the ninth.
 
Edens and T.J. Dixon both posted 3-for-4 performances at the plate. Edens scored two runs and drove in four against Alabama State, while Dixon crossed the dish three times and also drove in four runs.
 
SAMFORD AGAINST IN-STATE OPPONENTS
The Bulldogs boast a near-perfect 5-1 record against in-state opponents this season and have been victorious in nine of their last 10 outings versus teams from the state of Alabama. Last season, Samford closed out the campaign with consecutive victories against in-state opponents Troy, 13-2, Alabama State, 6-2, UAB, 4-2, and Jacksonville State, 14-13.
 
Already this year, the Bulldogs have defeated UAB, 13-2, Troy, 20-6, Alabama State, 18-7, and Jacksonville State twice, 10-7 and 7-6, but recently suffered a 5-3 road defeat at Troy on April. 5. In total, Samford has outscored its in-state foes by a count of 71-33 this season and has tallied an average of 11.8 runs per matchup.
 
SAMFORD'S OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK - - HEATH QUINN
Samford's Quinn hit safely in all four games last week, including a 3-for-4 performance in Sunday's 6-0 victory against Wofford. The Bulldogs' junior right fielder also went 3-for-6 against the Terriers on Friday as he rapped a pair of doubles in the contest.
 
Quinn finished the weekend with a .556 slugging percentage and an on-base percentage of .450. He has only committed one error in 74 total chances this season and has reached base in 27-consecutive games dating back to Feb. 26.
 
Quinn tallied RBI in three of the team's four games last week, while scoring runs in a pair. Against SoCon opponents last week, Quinn turned in a .500 batting average by going 7-for-14 at the plate. He currently leads the team in batting average (.346), runs (33), hits (44), home runs (14), RBI (47), total bases (95), slugging percentage (.748) and on-base percentage (.452).
 
BULLDOGS IN THE NATIONAL RANKINGS
Category, Rank (Value)
Home Runs, #6 (40)
Home Runs Per Game, #7 (1.25)
Hits, #22 (348)
Slugging Percentage, #22 (.474)
Batting Average, #32 (.305)
Runs, #39 (227)
Scoring, #44 (7.1 rpg)
On Base Percentage, #47 (.390)
 
BULLDOGS' HEATH QUINN IN THE NATIONAL RANKINGS
Category, Rank (Value)
Home Runs, #1 (14)
Home Runs Per Game, #1 (0.44)
Total Bases, #4 (95)
Runs Batted In, #5 (47)
Runs Batted In Per Game, #6 (1.47)
Slugging Percentage, #14 (.748)
 
NATION'S CURRENT HOME RUN LEADERS
Rank, Player, HR
1. Heath Quinn, Samford, 14
2. Seth Beer, Clemson, 13
    Jake Burger, Missouri State, 13
    Spencer Johnson, Missouri State, 13
    Kyle Lewis, Mercer, 13
    Kyle Nowlin, Eastern Kentucky, 13
7. Darick Hall, Dallas Baptist, 12
 
HUNTER SWILLING IN THE NATIONAL RANKINGS
Category, Rank (Value)
Doubles, #7 (15)
Doubles Per Game, #20 (0.47)
Runs Batted In, #54 (34)
Runs, #58 (33)
Total Bases, #63 (76)
Home Runs, #71 (7)
Runs Batted In Per Game, #75 (1.06)
Runs Per Game, #90 (1.03)
Home Runs Per Game, #97 (0.22)
 
GOING UP . . . ON A TUESDAY
Samford owns a near-perfect 5-1 record when playing on Tuesday this season. All of the Bulldogs' midweek games have been played on Tuesdays and have all come against in-state opponents.
 
So far this season, Samford has defeated UAB, 13-2, Troy, 20-6, Alabama State, 18-7, and Jacksonville State twice, 10-7 and 7-6, but recently dropped a 5-3 road decision at Troy on April 5. The Bulldogs are outscoring their opponents by a total of 71-33 when playing on Tuesday this season.
 
T.J. DIXON IN THE NATIONAL RANKINGS
Category, Rank (Value)
Triples, #17 (4)
Triples Per Game, #48 (0.13)
Stolen Bases, #60 (13)
Stolen Bases Per Game, #84 (0.41)
 
SCORING SIX IS THE KEY
Samford owns a perfect 15-0 record this season when scoring six or more runs. Conversely, the Bulldogs are 1-11 this year when scoring three runs or fewer. Samford also boasts an unblemished 11-1 record in 2016 when scoring a run in the first inning. Additionally, Samford holds a 13-8 record this season when scoring before its opponent.
 
WHAT'S COMING UP NEXT?
Following Tuesday's home game against Alabama State, the Samford University baseball team will next be in action Friday at 4 p.m. (CDT) as the Bulldogs travel to Cullowhee, North Carolina, for a huge three-game weekend series against the first-place Western Carolina Catamounts.
 
Following Friday's series opener, the teams are slated to compete in the second game Saturday at 1 p.m., before closing out the road series Sunday at noon.
 
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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