BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - Despite a great day at the plate from red-shirt sophomore Will Knight, division-leading Samford University swept both ends of a Southern Conference doubleheader Friday against the VMI baseball team, 11-4 and 7-6 in 10 innings. Knight had five hits, three runs, four RBI, a double, a home run and a walk combined in the two games.

With the score tied at one in the sixth inning of the nightcap, Nathan Loyd doubled to drive in a run and came in to score on a Cole Garrett single. Ty Swaim and Cody Warner singled with no outs in the seventh and Knight followed with a three-run home run to centerfield to give the Keydets a 6-1 lead. The Bulldogs scored two each in the seventh and eighth to cut the lead to 6-5 and pushed across the tying run in the ninth with two outs to force extra innings. A single from Taylor Garris with one out in the 10^th gave Samford the win.

Knight was 3-5 with two runs and three RBI, Swaim went 2-3 with a walk and was hit by a pitch. Warner had two hits and Garrett had a hit and a walk. Starter Jacob Menders limited Samford to just one run through six innings before running into trouble late in the contest.

Tyler McManus hit three doubles and drove in two runs for the Bulldogs.

Warner led off the opening game with a single, Knight followed with a double and Callen Nuccio brought Warner home with a sacrifice fly in the first. After two Samford runs in the second, Trey Morgan singled to score both Knight and Warner in the third and Knight hit a run-scoring single in the fourth to give VMI a 4-2 edge. Samford countered with three in the fourth and two more in the seventh to go ahead 7-4 and went on to win 11-4.

Warner went 4-4 and was hit by a pitch, while Knight was 2-4 with a double and a walk. JT Inskeep also had a hit and scored. Towns King was 2-2 with two runs, two RBI and a home run for Samford (16-11/7-1 SoCon).

The two teams will conclude the three-game series Saturday at 2 p.m. EST.