Samford Blanks Western Carolina in Day One Finale

Game 4: #4 Samford 7, #5 Western Carolina 0
Box Score
SoCon Tournament Central

GREENVILLE, S.C. - Josh Martin tossed seven scoreless innings and Austin Allison led the way at the plate with three runs batted in as No.4 seed Samford defeated No.5 seed Western Carolina, 7-0, in the final game of day one at the 2012 Southern Conference Baseball Championship at Fluor Field.

The Bulldogs (36-21) advance to face top-seeded Appalachian State at 8 p.m. on Thursday night while the Catamounts (32-23) will take on Furman at 1 p.m. in an elimination battle.

Martin, an all-conference selection, worked seven scoreless innings to improve to 12-1 on the season, becoming the first Division I pitcher to reach the 12-win plateau in 2012. The 6'5" right-hander worked around three singles and four walks by fanning seven Catamount hitters.

Allison was the hitting star for the Bulldogs, 2-for-3 with three RBIs and two runs scored. He doubled and scored to put Samford on the board in the third, and the shortstop followed that with an RBI sac bunt in the fourth and a two-run single in the fifth.

Phillip Ervin had three hits on the evening to lead all players.

Western Carolina starting pitcher Jordan Smith gave up six runs, all earned, on nine hits in 5.0 innings on the hill.

Tyler White picked up two of the Catamounts' four hits on the evening.