May 2, 2008

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The Samford baseball team will travel to Richmond, Ky., to take on the Eastern Kentucky Colonels in a three-game Ohio Valley Conference series this weekend. The teams will play a doubleheader Saturday at 12 p.m. Central, and a single game Sunday, also at 12 p.m. Central.

Samford enters the weekend with a record of 27-17 overall and 13-4 in Ohio Valley Conference play after dropping midweek games to Alabama and Georgia State. Samford currently stands in second place in the OVC, just a half game behind Jacksonville State. EKU is currently 21-22-1 overall and 8-10 in OVC play after splitting two midweek games with Miami of Ohio.

Samford is led at the plate by Michael Marseco, batting .416 with 39 RBI. Marseco enters the weekend on a Samford-record 29-game hitting streak. Michael Rutledge is batting .356 with a team-high 14 doubles and 46 RBI. Bear Burnett leads the team in home runs with six.

Jonathan Stephens (7-0, 2.12 ERA), Trent Hill (5-2, 3.72 ERA) and Michael Jarry (2-2, 4.76 ERA) are scheduled to start the games on the mound for Samford.

Anthony Ottrando leads EKU at the plate with a .359 batting average and 41 RBI. Aaron Barrows is batting .320 for the Colonels. Christian Friedrich (4-1, 2.03 ERA) has led the EKU pitching staff so far this season. EKU has not set its starting rotation for the weekend.

Since joining the Ohio Valley Conference prior to the 2004 season, Samford has a record of 7-8 against Eastern Kentucky. The Bulldogs are 5-7 against EKU in the regular season and 2-1 against the Colonels in the OVC Tournament. Under head coach Casey Dunn, Samford has a record of 4-7 against EKU.

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