Skip To Main Content
Skip To Main Content

Samford University Athletics

OFFICIAL WEBSITE OF SAMFORD UNIVERSITY ATHLETICS
BSB USM Recap
Chase Cochran | Samford Athletics
9
Winner Southern Miss USM 43-18
4
Samford SAM 37-25
Winner
Southern Miss USM
43-18
9
Final
4
Samford SAM
37-25
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Southern Miss USM 0 1 2 0 0 4 0 1 1 9 10 0
Samford SAM 0 1 0 2 1 0 0 0 0 4 11 0

W: Sivley, Kros (4-1) L: Holifield, Jake (2-3) S: Dawson, Chandler (1)

Game Recap: Baseball |

Baseball’s Postseason Run Concludes with Loss to Southern Miss

AUBURN, Ala. – The Samford Baseball team's magical postseason journey came to a close on Sunday with a 9-4 setback to the Southern Miss Golden Eagles. 
 
With the loss, Samford finishes 2023 with a record of 37-25, marking the most wins in a season since the 2019 campaign.
 
"I thought it was an outstanding college baseball game with two really good teams," Head Coach Tony David said. "I think it really felt more like a one- or two-run game for a game that finished up with five. I thought both teams did a really good job of really hitting the ball with runners in scoring position. Ours just seemed to keep going right at people where they would turn a great play. (Andrew) Bennett hit that ball to right center, which was a big two-run triple that was about eight inches away from being a three-run homer. A lot of almost's in there. Our guys did a really good job for the most part throwing strikes."
 
Jayden Davis led the Bulldogs at the plate with a 3-5 day while scoring once. Josh Rodriguez and Lucas Steele each accounted for an RBI, with Rodriguez collecting a pair of hits and Steele scoring twice. 
 
Andrew Bennett knocked in a pair of runs on a triple in the fourth inning.
 
Jake Holifield (2-3) took the loss on the mound, giving up four runs on a pair of hits in 0.2 innings of action. Starting pitcher Will Lynch conceded three runs on four hits while Turner Thompson (1.1) and Heath Clevenger (2) each allotted one run over the final 3.1 innings of relief.
 
Southern Miss cracked the scoreboard first, using a solo home run by Daniel Lynch to take a 1-0 lead in the top of the second.
 
The Bulldogs tied the game up in their next at-bat on an RBI double down the left-field line by Rodriguez. A one-out walk by Steele and a two-out single to right field by Kaden Dreier set the stage for Rodriguez to deliver the game-tying knock.
 
Inclement weather forced a two-hour and 18-minute delay in the contest with one on and nobody out in the top of the third. The Golden Eagles came out of the delay swinging, plating a pair of runs on a sac fly by Dustin Dickerson and an RBI groundout from Slade Wilks to take a 3-1 lead.
 
The Bulldogs answered with three runs in the fourth and fifth innings. Bennett delivered a game-tying, two-run triple in the fourth that banged off the top of the right-field wall while Steele gave Samford a 4-3 lead with a two-out single through the left side in the fifth. 
 
Southern Miss reclaimed the lead in the sixth by hanging four runs on three hits, with a two-RBI double by Nick Monistere and a two-run single by Matthew Etzel putting the Golden Eagles up 7-4.
 
The Golden Eagles got sac fly contributions from Montenegro and Wilks in the eighth and ninth innings to give way to the 9-4 final score. 
 
Despite outhitting the Golden Eagles, 11-10, The Bulldogs stranded a total of 11 base runners on the day. Hard-hit balls routinely found Southern Miss defensive players in big moments, with the Bulldogs leaving a pair of runners on base in the second, fifth, seventh, and eighth innings. 
 
"You want to be at this stage," Coach David said. "We had some guys disappointed out there and obviously some careers that ended today and a season that ended for everybody. But what I saw was true disappointment in not making it to a Super Regional and we're a program at this point that feels like any time we don't get to a regional at the end of the season, it's disappointing. What we saw out there today was a true disappointment of not making a Super Regional. That's really what needs to be the next step for us as a program."




 
FOLLOW THE BULLDOGS:
For the latest news and information on Samford baseball, visit the official website for Samford Athletics at SamfordSports.com. Fans can also follow the Bulldogs on social media at /SamfordBaseball (Facebook), @SamfordBaseball (Instagram), and @SamfordBaseball (Twitter). 
Print Friendly Version