RICHMOND, Ky. – Junior left-hander Christian Friedrich pitched eight brilliant innings Saturday en route to a 10-0 victory over Samford, allowing just one hit in the second inning before retiring the last 20 batters he faced. With the much-needed conference win, the Colonels improve to 22-22-1 (9-10 OVC), while the Bulldogs drop to 27-18 (13-5 OVC).

The Colonels took an early 2-0 lead when senior Joe Oliver ripped a two run home run over the left field wall in the bottom of the second, scoring junior Matt Davis. They added another run in the fourth when junior Aaron Barrows plated Oliver with a double down the left field line. A Davis double down the left field line scored junior Tyler Rehmel and made it 4-0 in the bottom of the fifth.

With Friedrich cruising, the Colonels pulled away with a six-run seventh inning. Sophomore Anthony Ottrando led off the inning with a single, and junior Dylan McMaine walked. Both runners were advanced a base on a sacrifice bunt from Rehmel, and both scored on a soft single over the shortstop’s head off the bat of Davis. Freshman Jayson Langfels then walked, and he and Davis were driven home on a double to center by Oliver. After Rehmel reached on an error by the Samford third baseman, both he and Oliver scored on a single up the middle by Barrows, making the score 10-0.

Friedrich (5-1) allowed a double to Samford catcher Bear Burnett in the top of the second, a bloop shot between the left fielder and third baseman that barely landed in fair play. Burnett was the only Bulldog baserunner of the entire day. Friedrich struck out nine batters on the day and walked none, dropping his ERA on the season to 1.78 and his opponent batting average to .142. Freshman Jay Embree came on in the ninth and retired the side in order to close things down for the Colonels.

Oliver’s four hit day highlighted the Colonel offensive effort. The senior catcher went 4-for-5 with four RBI and three runs scored, while Davis batted 3-for-4 with three RBI and two runs scored. Barrows also had a fine day at the plate, going 3-for-5 with two RBI, while Ottrando went 3-for-5 with a run scored.

The Colonels will play two seven inning games tomorrow to wrap up this weekend’s series with the Bulldogs. The first game is scheduled to begin at 12:00 p.m.