With just a month and a half left of the college baseball season, the Samford Bulldogs are 18-9 and undefeated in conference play. On April 2, the Bulldogs will match up with the 16th-ranked Alabama Crimson Tide at Joe Lee Griffin Field, which should make for a sold-out crowd.
A few days later, Samford will travel to Charleston to play a three-game series against The Citadel. A matchup against a top-25 team while also playing a conference opponent on the road in seven days heightens the importance of this week for the Bulldogs.
The previous week has been up and down for Samford. On Mar. 26, Samford hosted the 17th-ranked Mississippi State Bulldogs. The game was a back-and-forth affair that saw magnificent pitching and hitting from both sides. However, the luck wasn’t with Samford, and Mississippi State won 9-5 in 10 innings.
Coach Tony David realized that it was a game the team should’ve won, as he said in a post-game press conference, “I want them to be frustrated. I don’t want them to be excited because they went into extra innings.” Coach David wants to instill a winning mentality among his players and the program.
Following the Mississippi State game, Samford hosted a three-game weekend home series against Longwood. Samford swept a doubleheader on March 29 and won two out of the three games in the series, but the two essential wins were not the highlights from the series.
The second game of the doubleheader saw the Samford pitchers combine for a no-hitter in a 14-0 rout. Alex Flood, Heath Clevenger, and Cole Fryman combined for seven strikeouts, zero runs, and zero hits allowed. Star infielder John Anderson said he and his teammates were excited about the no-hitter, as it was the first one Samford baseball has seen since 2002.
“The combined no-hitter was amazing; the guys on the team were pumped, to say the least,” he said.
On the night of April 2, Samford will aim for a marquee win over the Crimson Tide at home. The Tide are finding their form, winning two games out of a three-game series against a South Carolina team. Winning won’t be easy, but Samford has been in this position before. Anderson discussed the plan for the game.
“Execute at the plate when we have runners in scoring position, throw strikes, and make pitches in big spots,” he said. “Lastly would be to catch and throw the ball cleanly.”
Samford has the talent and experience to win at a high level, but being able to execute on gameday is another challenge. If all the cards fall into place, Samford could shock the NCAA Baseball world.
Samford faces off against The Citadel Bulldogs beginning on Friday, April 5 for a weekend away series. The games should not be taken lightly, as every conference game matters for standings and seeding in the SoCon tournament. The Citadel will be looking to shock Samford, so the Bulldogs must bring their A-game. In the end, the four games in a week could determine if Samford makes a deep run, including playing in the NCAA tournament.
