CHARLESTON, S.C.—Samford senior pitcher Michael Jarry pitched a complete game, giving up four runs on seven hits and striking out six batters to lead the Bulldog baseball team to a 5-4 win in the first game of a three-game Southern Conference series at The Citadel Friday evening.
With the win, Samford improves to 17-29 overall and 9-16 in SoCon play. The Citadel drops to 25-18 overall and 12-10 in league play.
For Samford at the plate, Wayne Miller was 2-for-3 with two doubles and one RBI. Joe Durham went 2-for-4 with two doubles, while Stephen Ballard was 2-for-5 with an RBI. Mason Meredeth drove in two runs in a 1-for-5 performance.
Jarry walked just three batters in earning the win and improving his season record to 4-5. The complete game is just the second thrown by the Samford pitching staff this season, both coming from Jarry.
The Citadel’s Richard Jones went 2-for-4 with a double and an RBI. Wes Wrenn pitched 7.2 innings, giving up five runs on 10 hits to take the loss and drop his record to 7-2 on the season. Prior to Friday night’s game, Wrenn had earned the win in his last six starts.
Samford jumped on top first with a run in the top of the first inning. Miller led the game off with a double to right-center field. Ballard then singled through the right side of the infield, moving Miller to third base. Meredeth singled to center field to drive in Miller for a 1-0 Samford lead.
Samford added another run in the top of the second inning to push its lead to 2-0. Durham led the inning off with a double and advanced to third base on a Citadel error. Durham scored when Michael Johnson reached base on another Citadel error for Samford’s second run of the game.
The Citadel got on the scoreboard with one run in the bottom of the second inning. Jones led the inning off with a double to right-center field. After moving to third base on a ground out by Chris McGuiness, Jones scored on a sacrifice fly by Matt Simonelli to make the score 2-1.
The Citadel tied the score with a run in the bottom of the third inning. With two outs in the inning, Nick Orvin walked to start the rally. Bryan Altman singled and Sonny Meade walked to load the bases. Jones then reached base on an infield single to drive in Orvin to make the score 2-2.
Samford regained the lead with two runs in the top of the fourth inning. Durham led the inning off with a double and then moved to third base when Johnson reached base on a fielder’s choice. Durham was thrown out at home when Brad Moss reached base on a fielder’s choice. Ballard singled to right field to drive in Johnson for a 3-2 lead. Moss scored from third base when Meredeth reached base on a fielder’s choice to make the score 4-2.
The Citadel came back with a run in the sixth inning and another in the seventh to tie the score at 4-4. McGuiness walked to lead off the sixth inning and moved to second base when Simonelli grounded out to first base. With two outs in the inning, Sid Fallaw singled up the middle to drive in McGuiness for the run in the sixth inning.
In the seventh inning, Orvin singled to lead off the inning. Orvin moved to second base on a ground out and then stole third base. Orvin scored on a sacrifice fly by Meade to make the score 4-4.
Samford plated one run in the top of the eighth inning to make the final score 5-4. Trey Hayes singled to lead off the inning. With one out, Hayes moved to second base when Johnson singled to left field. After Moss walked to load the bases, Hayes scored the game-winning run on a sacrifice fly by Miller.
The same two teams will continue their three-game series Saturday afternoon. The game is scheduled for a 2 p.m. (CT) start.
