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BIRMINGHAM, Ala.—The host Samford University baseball team used a pair of early home runs to take control of the contest and cruise to a 9-2 victory over the visiting University of Evansville Purple Aces on Friday night in the first game of a three-game series at Joe L. Griffin Field in Birmingham, Alabama.
Samford jumped on Evansville starter Matt Netherton (0-1) early for six runs in the first two innings to grab an early 6-0 lead. Senior outfielder Wayne Miller set the tone for the contest by launching a lead-off home run in the bottom of the first inning and junior second baseman Michael Johnson added a two-run home run to key a five-run second inning to help the Bulldogs build a 6-0 lead.
Evansville would strike back quickly with a run in the top of the third inning on an RBI single by junior designated hitter Shawn Kuester to trim the deficit to 6-1, but Samford senior right-hander Jonathan Stephens (2-0) would keep UE at bay offensively from there, as he scattered a lone run on eight base hits over 7.0 innings of work to earn the victory. The Bulldogs would add three runs in the sixth and seventh innings against the UE bullpen, before freshman shortstop Eric Stamets would cap the scoring with an RBI single in the ninth inning for the Purple Aces.
“Once again, we did not get the start that we wanted on a Friday night,” said UE head coach Wes Carroll. “Our Friday starter has to be able to go more than two innings in the center of the diamond, because if he doesn’t, our bullpen gets exhausted pretty quickly in a weekend series.
“We had some breakdowns today, both offensively and defensively, and overall, I was disappointed with how we competed on a Friday night. Hopefully, we can come to the park tomorrow with a better attitude and approach and try to even this series at one game apiece.”
Miller, catcher Brad Moss, and shortstop Mason Meredith all had two-hit efforts to lead the Samford offense. Seven different Purple Aces recorded hits on the evening, led by a 2-for-2 effort by senior outfielder Alex Acheson and a 2-for-5 outing by Stamets.
With the victory, Samford improves to 6-3. Evansville, meanwhile, slips to 2-7 with the loss. The two teams will continue the series on Saturday afternoon at 1:00 p.m. at Joe L. Griffin Field in Birmingham. Freshman RHP Jake Naumann (0-1, 5.14 ERA) is expected to get the start for the Purple Aces.
