9th-Inning Rally Lifts Samford to 6-5 Victory Over Baseball

Saturday, May 21

Birmingham, Ala.

3:00 PM

College of Charleston

Samford

9th-Inning Rally Lifts Samford to 6-5 Victory Over Baseball

5/21/2011 9:52:00 PM | Baseball

By: CofCSports.com

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Phillip Ervin's RBI single up the middle with the bases loaded in the bottom of the ninth broke a 5-5 tie and gave Samford University a 6-5 win over the College of Charleston Saturday afternoon at J.L. Griffin Field in the final regular season Southern Conference game for both clubs. With the loss, the Cougars fall to 36-20 overall, 18-12 in the league and will be the #5 seed in the upcoming SoCon Tournament. Charleston will face #4 Georgia Southern Wednesday, May 25at 9:00 p.m. at Riley Park.

With one out in the bottom of the ninth and sophomore LHP Jake Zokan (Columbia, S.C.) on the mound, Michael Johnson singled to right for Samford. After Brad Moss struck out swinging for the second out, Saxon Butler walked and senior RHP Casey Lucchese (Lexington, Ky.) entered the game. Lucchese walked Brandon Miller to loaded the bases and Ervin chopped a 0-1 pitch up the middle and scored Johnson with the winning run.

Samford jumped out to an early 4-0 lead in the bottom of the first as sophomore RHP Christian Powell (Greenwood, S.C.) struggled to find the strike zone early in the game. After retiring Michael Johnson on strikes, Powell gave up a single to Moss, hit Butler with a 1-1 pitch and walked Miller to load the bases. Ervin drew the first bases-loaded walk of the frame and after Powell struck out Kevin Putkonen, Tripp Swann picked up a full-count walk to force in the second run of the frame. With the bases still full, Stephen Ballard lined a two-run single into shallow center field to give Samford a 4-0 lead after the first inning.

A pair of long balls for the Cougars accounted for four runs in the top of the fourth to knot the score at 4-4. With one out, redshirt-junior DH Matt Leeds (Boca Raton, Fla.) singled down the right-field line and redshirt-freshman RF Daniel Aldrich (Mt. Pleasant, S.C.) drew a full-count walk, putting runners at first and second. Redshirt-junior LF Jose Rodriguez (Hialeah, Fla.) stepped into the box and drilled the first offering from Samford starter C.K. Irby over the wall inside the left-field foul pole for a three-run homer. The blast was Rodriguez's 11th of the season and gives him 50 RBIs on the year. Senior CF Cole Rakar (Mt. Pleasant, S.C.) tied the game three pitches later, taking a 1-1 pitch from Irby to the same location as Rodriguez, for his fourth round-tripper of the 2011 campaign.

Charleston took a 5-4 lead in the top of the seventh, on a solo home run by redshirt-junior C Rob Kral (Randolph, N.J.) down the right-field line, his 10th of the season. With two away, Kral took a 1-1 pitch from Samford reliever Joshua VanFleteren straight down the line and inside the right-field foul pole. Samford knotted the game at 5-5 in the bottom of the frame when Johnson led off with a single to right center, advanced to third on a sacrifice bunt by Moss and scored when the throw to third from junior 1B Marty Gantt (N. Augusta, S.C.) bounced away from third into foul territory.

Zokan took the loss for the Cougars, allowing one run on one hits with two walks and three strikeouts in 2-1/3 innings. Powell scattered five runs – four earned – on four hits in 6-1/3 innings with five walks and four strikeouts. Senior 2B Jesse Mesa (Miramar, Fla.) had two hits for the Cougars. Grant Sides picked up the win for Samford, allowing one hits over the final two innings in relief with three strikeouts. Johnson had three hits to lead the Bulldogs.

Charleston advances to the 2011 Southern Conference Tournament next week as the #5 seed and will face #4 Georgia Southern on Wednesday, May 25 at 9 p.m.