April 25, 2008

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The Samford baseball team will play host to the Eastern Illinois Panthers in a crucial Ohio Valley Conference series this weekend at Joe Lee Griffin Field. The teams will play a doubleheader Saturday at 1 p.m., and a single game Sunday, also at 1 p.m.

Samford enters the weekend with a record of 24-14 overall and 10-4 in OVC play after splitting two midweek games this week. EIU is currently 18-20 overall and 9-6 in OVC play after dropping two midweek games this week. Samford stands in second place in the OVC, while EIU is in third place, just a game and a half behind the Bulldogs.

Samford is led by Michael Marseco, batting .406 with 36 RBI. Michael Rutledge is batting .361 with a team-high 39 RBI. Bear Burnett leads the team in home runs with five.

On the mound, Samford will start Jonathan Stephens (6-0, 2.38 ERA) in game one, Trent Hill (4-2, 5.55 ERA) in game two and Michael Jarry (1-2, 5.79 ERA) in game three.

For EIU, Brett Nommensen leads the team with a .346 batting average. Jordan Kreke leads the team in RBI with 35. EIU plans to start Josh Mueller (4-4, 4.24 ERA), Tyler Kehrer (1-4, 4.61 ERA) and Mike Recchia (2-1, 6.00 ERA) on the mound.

Since joining the OVC prior to the 2004 season, Samford has a record of 8-5 against Eastern Illinois. Under head coach Casey Dunn, Samford is 6-3 against the Panthers. Last season, Samford won two of three games at EIU.

All three games can be heard locally on WVSU-FM 91.1, or worldwide on the internet at www.samford.edu/groups/wvsu/. Fans can also follow all three games on the internet via GameTracker at the links below.

GameTracker For Game 1

GameTracker For Game 2

GameTracker For Game 3