March 5, 2004

Box Score

DOTHAN, Ala. - The Samford University baseball team was defeated by the Northwestern University Wildcats, 6-2, in the first game of the Wiregrass Classic at Northcutt Field Friday afternoon.

Northwestern (3-6-1) jumped out to a 4-0 lead with a run in the first inning and three more in the second. In the first inning, Jon Milkrut singled to bring in Matt Brimmer. For the first run in the second inning, Caleb Fields drove in Mark Ori with a single to make the score 2-0. Josh Lieberman then hit a single to drive in Mike Phelps and Fields to give the Wildcats a 4-0 lead.

Samford (0-8) cut the lead to 4-1 in the bottom of the fourth inning when Eric Hollis scored on a Northwestern wild pitch.

Northwestern pushed its lead to 6-1 with two runs in the top of the eighth inning. Anthony Wycklendt scored the inning's first run on a Samford error. Brimmer later hit a sacrifice fly to right field to bring in Mike Phelps for the 6-1 lead.

Samford closed out the scoring with a run in the bottom of the eighth to make the final score 6-2. Garrett Rice hit a sacrifice fly to left field to bring in Michael Collins for the game's final run.

Northwestern out hit Samford 16-6 in the game.

For Samford, Joe Denson went 2-for-4. Rice was 1-for-3 with an RBI for the Bulldogs. Stephen Artz started the game on the mound for the Bulldogs, and pitched 6.1 innings, giving up four runs on 13 hits to take the loss. Lee Brady pitched the final 2.2 innings, giving up one earned run.

Northwestern was led by Brimmer, going 3-for-4 with an RBI. Ori went 3-for-5 for the Wildcats. Dan Brauer pitched 7.0 innings, giving up one run on six hits to pick up the win.

Samford will play again on Saturday against the Nicholls State Colonels. The first pitch for the game is scheduled for 2:00 p.m.