BIRMINGHAM, Ala. | Alabama State was unable to overcome a four-run third inning from Samford as the Bulldogs were able to pull away for the second midweek win over Alabama State this season, 8-3 at Joe Lee Griffin Field Wednesday night.

Samford (9-3) struck for four runs in the bottom of the third to pull away. Branden Fryman started the scoring for the Bulldogs when he singled up the middle to drive in Sam Teague for the first run of the game. The Bulldogs added two more runs on a Taylor Garris to push the lead to 3-0, before Anthony Mulrine hit the first of his two doubles to right to drive in another run to push the lead to 4-0.

Alabama State (7-6) answered with a pair of runs in the top of the fourth inning, trimming the deficit in half. They got on the board first on Noel Cheneau RBI groundout to score Eriq White to trim the lead to 4-1, before Santiago Garcia singled to left to score Hearn to trim the deficit to 4-2. They added their final run in the top of the ninth inning on a sacrifice fly from Cristopher DeGuzman to score Chris Lewis for the final 8-3 margin.

Alexander Castro (0-1), one of three pitchers used on the night for the Hornets, suffered the loss as he went 4.0 innings and allowed six runs (all earned) off of six hits with five strikeouts. Trevor Jurjevich went the middle two innings and allowed a pair of runs off of two hits, while Britt Buckelew went the final two of scoreless and hitless relief with three strikeouts.

Cameron Hearn led the Hornets at the plate, finishing 2-for-4 with a run scored and a double.

Vital Statistics
WP – Carson Cupo (1-0); 2.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 3 K
LP – Alexander Castro (0-1); 4.0 IP, 6 H, 6 R, 6 ER, 1 BB, 5 K

E – Cristopher DeGuzman (9). LOB – Hornets 6; Bulldogs 6. 2B – Eriq White (5); Cameron Hearn (4); Taylor Garris (3); Anthony Mulrine 2 (4); Preston Moore 2 (5). HBP – Chris Lewis; Taylor Garris. SH – Sam Teague (1). SF – Cristopher DeGuzman (2); Max Pinto (2). SB – Cameron Hearn (4); Noel Cheneau (6); Taylor Garris (2).

How it Happened
After the two teams went scoreless through the first two innings, Samford struck for four runs in the bottom of the third to pull away. Branden Fryman started the scoring for the Bulldogs when he singled up the middle to drive in Sam Teague for the first run of the game. The Bulldogs added two more runs on a Taylor Garris to push the lead to 3-0, before Anthony Mulrine hit the first of his two doubles to right to drive in another run to push the lead to 4-0.

Alabama State answered with a pair of runs in the top of the fourth inning, trimming the deficit in half. They got on the board first on Noel Cheneau RBI groundout to score Eriq White to trim the lead to 4-1, before Santiago Garcia singled to left to score Hearn to trim the deficit to 4-2.

Samford added a pair of runs in the bottom of the fourth inning when Teague grounded out to second to score Kaden Dreier for a 5-2 lead, before Max Pinto delivered a sacrifice fly to right for a 6-2 lead.

They would add another run in the bottom of the fifth inning on wild pitch to score Brooks Carlson for a 7-2 lead, before Mulrine doubled in another run in the seventh for an 8-2 lead.

Alabama State added a run in the top of the ninth inning on a sacrifice fly from Cristopher DeGuzman to score Chris Lewis for the final 8-3 margin.

What's Next
The Hornets return to Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) play this weekend in a three-game set on the road at Alcorn State beginning Friday.

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