Samford Baseball: Time to Take it Back
It is officially the third week in May and you know what that means, it is Samford baseball’s annual chance to win a Southern Conference tournament championship. Samford has won four tournaments in their history with the last happening in 2023. We will all remember that title for a while as Samford won three games in one day to secure that one.
Samford will be the two seed for this tournament, same as they were last season. Since Tony David took over as head coach in 2022, Samford has not been lower than the three seed in the SoCon tournament. The Bulldogs finished in a tie for second in 2022.
Yes everyone wants to win the regular season title as ETSU did this season which was ETSU’s first since 1980. However, the two seed is just as important as Samford will also receive a double bye with their first game happening on Friday.
Samford will play either Wofford, UNCG, or The Citadel on Friday at 11:30am central time. The Bulldogs went 8-1 against those teams including sweeps of Wofford and UNCG.
For Samford to find themselves back in this position is pretty remarkable. If you remember our season preview, we titled this season as a reload and not a rebuild. Samford ended up having with ten representatives on the All-SoCon teams.
Samford had to replace almost every position with sophomore 1B Jackson Harris as the lone returner. Harris, who was second team All-SoCon, has solidified himself in the two-hole in this lineup with a .323 batting average and capped off his regular season with a home run and a double in the regular season finale win against Mercer.
This team had seven players play in at least 50 games, five of those seven were not even on campus last season.
Four of those five newcomers had a batting average of over .300. That group was led by 2B Jeffrey Ince. Ince hit .338 with an OPS of 1.034 leading Samford in both of those categories. He has been a staple at the top of this lineup with an on base percentage of .456. Oh then Ince also leads Samford in doubles (17) and stolen bases (20).
Two other newcomers to highlight are freshmen LF Jake Souders and junior CF Michael Gupton. Souders hit .329 with eight homers and 41 RBI in his freshman campaign. He also had 13 doubles and 14 stolen bases.
Gupton has been on a tear as of late earning the SoCon Player of the Week award just two weeks ago. Since May 3rd in nine games, Gupton has a .438 batting average along with six home runs and 15 RBI. He also leads Samford in home runs with 14. He only hit three homers in February and March combined. Gupton has been solid all year but he has taken it to another level this month.
Other key contributors include DH/C Cade Carr, 3B/SS Parker McDonald and C Matthew Strand. All three guys have batting averages higher than .290. Carr is hitting .325 with eight homers and a team leading 56 RBI. McDonald has started every game but one this season and is second on the team in homers with 12.
Strand has taken over the catching duties and is hitting the ball very well also. In May, he is 12-28 (.429 AVG), with 5 RBI and just 2 strikeouts.
OF Angelo Prieto was one of the returners and he has found himself back in the lineup regularly after the season-ending leg injury to transfer OF Trey Higgins. Prieto has a .260 AVG for the season.
In Southern Conference play, the Samford offense led the league in almost every offensive category. They do lead the league in strikeouts also with 172. Below is where Samford ranks in every offensive category and their stats.
Batting average: .315 (1st)
Runs scored: 177 (1st)
Doubles: 53 (1st)
Home runs: 42 (1st)
RBI: 162 (1st)
On Base Percentage: .399 (1st)
Slugging Percentage: .563 (1st)
OPS: .962 (1st)
Total Bases: 415 (1st)
Samford will need their league leading offense to be ready to go by Friday afternoon.
Transitioning over to the pitching side, Samford does not have the dominant ace as they did last season if it is lined up, Samford can compete. The starting rotation of Miller Riggins, Cameron Keshock, and Mason Blasche have been solid all season. Blasche, a freshman, has been the breakout pitcher of the pitching staff.
Blasche leads Samford in ERA this season with a 3.41 ERA in 66 innings pitched. In the Sunday role, he has provided big time innings and stepped up to be Samford’s much needed third starter.
Miller Riggins has had an up-and-down season with a 4.24 ERA but as of late, he has allowed just 4 earned runs in his last four starts. He finished his regular season with seven innings of shutout baseball in the loss at Mercer. He could be peaking at just the right time.
Auburn transfer Cameron Keschock has been the team’s Saturday starter. He has provided valuable innings in this role, finishing the season with a 4.76 ERA in 73.2 innings pitched. He is second on the team in strikeouts with 71.
Samford’s starting rotation combined for a 4.26 ERA in Southern Conference play which finished second in the conference.
In the bullpen, Evan Steckmesser has been the go-to arm all season. The tall, left-hander finished his season with a 3.46 ERA out of the ‘pen in 52 innings pitched. He is third on the team in strikeouts with 61. The next bullpen arm with the second lowest ERA is Josh Leersen.
Leersen, the Birmingham-Southern transfer, finished with a 4.70 ERA in 38.1 innings pitched. He has been good since the calendar turned to April, allowing just five runs in eight appearances.
One intriguing wild card in the bullpen is former first baseman turned relief pitcher Cullen Horowicz. He possesses a 97mph fastball with a slider that is effective when located. While yes, he has allowed 10 runs in 10 innings but the pitching arsenal is there.
Every SoCon tournament, someone from the Samford bullpen has shined and stepped up. Last year it was Miller Riggins. Riggins threw six, very good innings while allowing just one run against Wofford en route to being on the all-tournament team. If Horowicz toes the slab in Greenville, he will have a very short leash. However, he has the stuff to help Samford when they might need him the most.
Samford could also turn to Drew Druckenmiller, John Whitney and or RHP Brooks Rice. Whitney and Rice have the experience of pitching in this tournament. Druckenmiller has the best overall ERA of the group at 4.96.
In SoCon play, the Samford staff finished second in team ERA at 4.26. They led the conference in strikeouts with 183 and had the second fewest walks. Samford allowed the second fewest hits and the second fewest earned runs.
While this Samford pitching staff does not have the star power with an ace like Jacob Cravey or Michael Ross, this staff does have what it takes to get it done. Much like basketball, it is all about who gets hot at the right time.
Since the opening conference series at ETSU, Samford has allowed more than five runs just three times in those next 18 SoCon games.
So what does Samford need to do to get that berth to the NCAA Tournament? Simply, the Samford bats need to show up and be consistent. It sounds simple and obvious but Samford in 2025 has had trouble winning close games. In games decided by 2 runs or less, Samford is 2-8 in those games. They either blows teams out, gets blown out, or loses.
This Samford offense is young and possibly one season away, should everyone return, from being elite. Does Samford’s youth struggle with what is at stake in the conference tournament? It remains to be seen but these young guns have played most if not all of the season. It could be a factor.
The draw sets up nicely for Samford’s first game with them set to face either Wofford, UNCG, or The Citadel. Samford went 8-1 in those games scoring 94 runs in those eight wins. The Citadel and Wofford both won their last series of the season. The Citadel won the series against league winner ETSU at home and Wofford beat last place VMI.
We would expect Samford to keep their same starting rotation with Miller Riggins and Cameron Keschock starting the first two games. However should Samford win their first game and face number one seed ETSU, Keshock did give up seven earned runs in that start in the loss.
Anything can happen in Greenville, South Carolina in the SoCon Tournament. Can Samford find a way to have everything click and take home another conference crown? Something beautiful about this sport of baseball, anybody can win. Will it be Samford’s time? It all starts on Friday.
