JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (April 18, 2015) – ETSU baseball couldn’t cool off a surging Samford team, who has now won seven straight games, as the Bulldogs swept the Buccaneers following a doubleheader win on Saturday at Thomas Stadium. 

Samford belted three home runs in game one and secured the series win with an 8-4 victory, while the Bulldogs plated three runs in the first two innings of the nightcap to hold on for a 7-4 win. 

ETSU has now dropped its last five games and moved to 14-24, 3-9, while the Bulldogs, who have outscored their opponents, 84-25, during the win streak, improved to 21-17, 9-3. 

GAME ONE RECAP

Austin Edens belted two home runs and Richard Greene added a two-run blast in the bottom of the eighth, lifting Samford to an 8-4 series win over ETSU in game one of Saturday’s doubleheader. 

The Bulldogs got off to a strong start by plating two runs in the top of the first on Alex Lee’s double to left, and after falling behind 5-1 after five and a half innings, the Buccaneers sparked a rally to pull within a run courtesy of a three-run sixth. Unfortunately, Edens came through with his second homer – a solo blast to straightaway center in the seventh – and Greene provided the insurance runs in the eighth. 

Jeremy Taylor (Fayetteville, Ga.), Trey York (Knoxville, Tenn.) and Aaron Maher (Brentwood, Tenn.) finished with multi-hit games for the Blue and Gold, while Chris Cook (Kingsport, Tenn.) and Robby McCabe (New Port Richey, Fla.) registered the RBIs. Taylor, who scored ETSU’s first run on a wild pitch in the first inning, went 2 for 5 and York ended 2 for 4 with one walk. Cook sparked the three-run sixth inning with a lead-off home run to left, while McCabe was credited with an RBI as Zach Thompson (Johnson City, Tenn.) and Maher scored when the Buccaneer shortstop reached on a fielding error by Lee at first, making it a 5-4 score. 

The Bucs were unable to do further damage and Samford – the SoCon leader in home runs – used the long ball to extend its lead late. 

Senior right-hander Jimmy Nesselt (Plantation, Fla.) suffered the loss (4-5) after allowing five runs on 11 hits, while striking out five and walking two in six innings of work. Samford starter Jared Brasher earned the win (3-2) as he issued two runs on four hits in five innings of work. 

The Bulldogs pounded out 13 hits as four Samford batters finished with two-hit games. 

GAME TWO RECAP

The Bulldogs tacked on three runs in the first two innings and held off an ETSU comeback by holding the Buccaneers scoreless for the final five innings en route to capping off the sweep with a 7-4 victory in the nightcap. 

Despite falling behind by six runs early, the Blue and Gold battled with a four-run fourth inning; however, ETSU couldn’t build on that momentum and suffered the three-run setback. 

Samford took advantage of two ETSU errors in the top of the first as two of the three runs in the frame were unearned, while Austin Edens registered his fourth home run of the series with a two-run shot in the second, giving starter Parker Curry some room to work with. 

ETSU finally got to the Samford right-hander in the fourth as the Buccaneers hit around in the inning and picked RBI singles by Zach Thompson, Jordan Sanford (Powell, Tenn.), Nathan Millsap (Kingsport, Tenn.) and Jeremy Taylor to pull within two, 6-4. 

Unfortunately, after the four-run, five-hit inning, the Buccaneers were held scoreless on two hits for the final five frames. 

Curry retired 10 straight Buccaneer hitters until Kevin Phillips snapped the streak with a one-out single in the eighth, while Sanford recorded the other hit with a lead off double in the ninth. 

Following a bumpy start, junior Griffin Krieg (Nashville, Tenn.) settled down and retired 12 straight following the Edens homer in the second, while the Bulldogs plated their final run on a two-out home run by Heath Quinn in the seventh. 

Krieg (1-5) took the loss after allowing seven runs (five earned) on eight hits in seven innings, while Curry improved to 6-3 after surrendering four runs on eight hits in eight innings. Dillon Cate (Sevierville, Tenn.) tossed two scoreless innings to finish the game for the Blue and Gold. 

Both teams totaled nine hits in the nightcap as Phillips led ETSU with three and scored a run, while Taylor went 2 for 5 with an RBI. Sanford also finished with two hits, scored a run and drove in a Buccaneer base runner. 

Samford was led by Quinn’s three-hit game as he scored and drove in two runs, while Edens and T.J. Dixon both totaled two hits in the win. 

The Bucs wrap up their five-game homestand Tuesday night when ETSU hosts Tennessee at 6:05 p.m. 

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