Samford Cruises to SoCon Championship Sunday
Make that two, not done yet. Samford advances to the Southern Conference title game in a complete effort. Great pitching along with great hitting as the Bulldogs advance over the Wofford Terriers 10-1. Tomorrow will be Samford’s eighth appearance in the SoCon Tournament final since 2011.
Junior LHP Miller Riggins had never pitched more than 4.1 innings in an outing in his college career. Today, Riggins threw six innings of one-run baseball only allowing four hits. Alex Flood and Evan Steckmesser shut the door over the final three innings, only allowing one hit between them.
Samford not only got the win but did not have to use closer Carson Lore either to give him another day of rest. The Bulldogs have plenty of arms to throw at whomever meets them in the title game.
The offense was also the other story of the day. C Lucas Steele had a monster day going three-for-five with a 2B and a HR. Steele had five RBIs also. Yesterday, Steele hit the go-ahead grand slam from the right side of the plate. Today’s HR came from the left side.
Lucas Steele is a prime candidate for the 2024 SoCon Tournament’s Most Outstanding Player. One more game to go.
3B Garrett Staton and 2B John Anderson also had three hits. LF Josh Rodriguez had two hits of his own. Nine of Samford’s 10 runs came in the fifth through eighth innings. You could not ask for a more perfect day from this Samford team.
Samford is now one win away from back-to-back NCAA Tournaments for the first time ever.
They have their full bullpen ready to go for the championship round. The Bulldogs would have to lose twice tomorrow. Someone will have to take it from them and after today’s semifinal win, that is going to be a hard task for whomever they face.
There’s only one thing left to say to ETSU, Mercer, or Wofford. Good luck with that.
Photo courtesy of Samford Athletics
