Samford, Alabama State and Troy all suffered heartbreaking losses in conference baseball tournament games on Friday. Samford and Alabama State still have a chance to come back and win a tournament title. Troy’s time in the Sun Belt Conference Tournament is done.
Southern Conference Tournament
Wofford 7, Samford 6: The Bulldogs carried a one-run lead into the ninth inning but couldn’t escape with a win in Greenville, South Carolina. Samford closer Ben Petschke, who is one of the leaders in saves in the country, had a pair of one-out walks before an infield single and single to centerfield brought in the winning runs.
Samford trailed 1-0 heading into the fifth inning but took control with a three-run home run by John Anderson. The home came in the fifth inning and the Bulldogs padded the lead in the sixth inning with a RBI double by Garrett Staton and a run-scoring single by Stephen Klein.
At that point, Samford starter Brody Westbrooks was in control. By the end of the top of the seventh, though, the score was tied and Westbrooks was done for the day. Samford regained the lead, at 6-5, in the bottom of the seventh inning on a RBI single by Josh Rodriguez. But the regular season champion Bulldogs couldn’t hold the lead.
Samford will play either Mercer or UNC Greensboro on Saturday morning. The winner of that game will play Wofford for the championship. Wofford needs just one more win to claim the Southern Conference Tournament title. It would take three wins for anyone else to win it.
SWAC Tournament
Florida A&M 8, Alabama State 6: Florida A&M used a seven-run eight inning to erase a 3-1 deficit. The however, Alabama State came up just short.
The Hornets used RBI singles by Corey King and Ian Matos and a bases loaded walk to Jack Hay to cut the deficit to two runs with one out. The rally ended with a pop out and a fly out, forcing an elimination game between the two teams on Saturday at 11 a.m. CT.
Sun Belt Tournament
Appalachian State 14, Troy 10: Appalachian State pushed 10 runs across the plate in the sixth inning and held on for the elimination game victory at Riverwalk Stadium in Montgomery. All 10 of the runs came with two outs as the Mountaineers strung together seven hits and four walks in the inning. Troy had a 7-3 lead heading into the sixth inning.
Troy’s Kole Myers had three hits, two RBIs and two runs scored. Ethan Kavanagh had two hits and three runs scored. The Trojans (39-20) hope to get an at-large berth into the NCAA Regionals.
ASUN Tournament
Austin Peay 16, Jacksonville State 4, 7 innings: The Gamecocks had a bad night at the ballpark in Deland, Florida but still has a shot at winning the tournament. Jacksonville State finished 2-1 in Pool B play and will advance as the winner of the pool. The Gamecocks will play Florida Gulf Coast on Saturday morning in the first of two semifinal games. The other semifinal matches Liberty vs. Lipscomb.
Derrick Jackson had two hits, including a home run, and three RBIs for the Gamecocks. Mason Maners had two hits and two runs.
Don't miss out! Subscribe to our newsletter and get our top stories every weekday morning.
