BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (February 26, 2016)—A 6-1 record is the best start in BYU baseball history after its 4-3 victory in 10 innings and a 10-5 loss at Samford University on Friday.

The split doubleheader leaves host Samford with a 5-2 record.

Eric Urry swatted a grand slam home run in the fourth inning of the nightcap with no outs over the right field fence. That slam gave BYU a 4-1 lead.

Samford’s Heath Quinn, one of three preseason All-Americans all batting in the heart of the Bulldog lineup, belted three home runs in the nightcap and a fourth dinger in the opener.  Quinn’s last homer, a three-run shot, tied game two at five-all in the seventh.

The Bulldogs broke that deadlock with a five-run eighth off three Cougar relievers.

The drama from the opener hit its apex in the bottom of the 10^th when reliever Mason Marshall threw six straight strikes en route to fanning the Bulldogs in order to secure the win.

Marshall came in relief for the last out of the ninth before the Cougars broke the 3-3 deadlock.

In the top of the 10^th, Colton Shaver knocked a one-out double off the wall in left-center.  He was replaced by pinch runner Court Iorg who scored the winning run after Brennon Anderson hit a two-out single to centerfield.

“What an incredible team win,” BYU coach Mike Littlewood said after game one.  “We made Samford’s pitching staff work for every out they got in game one. Maverik (Buffo) was solid on the mound today and gave us a chance to win. Brennon (Anderson) came up big with he two-out RBI in the 10th and Riley (Gates) and Mason were fantastic out of the pen.“

Anderson’s single wasn’t the only big two-out hit of the opener.  In the fourth inning, back-to-back doubles with two outs by Larsen and Shaver closed the score to 2-1. BYU tied the game at 2-2 with two outs when Kyle Dean scored on a wild pitch.

Larsen tied the game at 3-3 in the eighth when he scored on a ground-out after leading off the inning with a walk.

Maverik Buffo was effective through six innings, striking out four.  Lefty Riley Gates relieved Buffo to start the seventh and also struck out four in 2.2 innings.

"Hayden (Rogers) had a hard time with his command tonight," said Littlewood of BYU's starter in game two. "Overall it was a good day for us.  We need to get some rest and come back ready to finish the series Saturday."

BYU and Samford complete the four-game series Saturday afternoon in a game that can be followed through a live stat link on www.byucougars.com. No audio will be available for game four.

Undefeated BYU baseball travels to unbeaten Samford University in a four-game series in Birmingham, Alabama that starts Thursday.

The Cougars and Bulldogs each have 4-0 records after last week’s season openers. BYU is off to its best start since 1998.

“We're looking forward getting down to Birmingham and face a team from that part of the country,” BYU coach Mike Littlewood said. “Samford is a big, strong team that has pop all throughout its lineup.  They are off to a good start and we definitely have our work cut out for us.”

Samford was picked to win the Southern Conference by the league coaches and Perfect Game. Samford outfielder Heath Quinn was named the Louisville Slugger National Player of the Week, while BYU outfielder Brennon Lund was named the West Coast Conference Player of the Week.

Both Quinn and Lund went 10-for-16 last week, but Lund’s was a three-game total against Saint Louis University, while Quinn accomplished that feat in four games and hit for the cycle in one of those contests against Butler University.

Right-handers Michael Rucker (1-0, 3.00) and Maverik Buffo (1-0, 0.00) are BYU’s probable starters for Thursday and Friday’s games that start at 2 p.m. CST.   Lefty Hayden Rogers (1-0, 1.50) is scheduled to pitch in Friday’s nightcap and Littlewood is undecided who will pitch for the Cougars in Saturday’s noon finale.

After the Samford series, BYU’s team will participate in a Saturday night fireside in Birmingham before flying home to get ready for next week’s three-game series at Kansas.

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