Mid-week continues to be a time of struggle for the Lipscomb Bisons baseball team.

Wednesday afternoon the Bisons fell 11-9 to Samford at Ken Dugan Field at Stephen L. Marsh Stadium. It was the first loss by the Bisons in the Samford series in four games overall.

The game was a back-and-forth affair. Both teams scored in the first inning. Samford took a 2-1 lead in the second and the Bisons pulled ahead 3-2 in the third.

In the fourth Samford struck for two runs to take a 4-3 advantage.

In the sixth Samford appeared to have broken the game wide open with six runs. But the Bisons responded with five runs in bottom of the sixth.

The Bisons added one more run in the eighth, but Samford closed out the game with a run in the ninth.

It was another hit fest as the teams combined for 28 hits. In Tuesday’s 7-5 loss to Evansville both teams combined for 24 hits.

Davey Hackett made his first collegiate start for the Bisons. He pitched 3.1 innings, allowed four hits and four runs, two earned. He walked three and struck out three. Hackett was given the loss, dropping him to 0-1.

Martin Grude, Jerry Young and Kyle Tognazzini combined to finish the game, allowing nine hits and seven runs, four earned. Only one of the hits by Samford was for extra bases.

Five Samford pitchers combined to give up 15 hits. Kyle Putkonen pitched five innings as the starter for Samford. He evened his record at 1-1.

Justin Sanders led the Bisons offensively with three hits and three runs batted in. it was the eighth multi-hit game for Sanders and his fourth multiple-RBI game. He tied his season-high for RBI in a game with three.

Sanders has hits in seven straight games. He has hits in 16 of 18 games.

Four other Bisons; Tyler Wilson, Allen Bolden, Antonio Butler and Tennyson Dodd; each had two hits. Dodd also had two RBI.

Bolden and Butler each had doubles. Sanders hit his third home run.

The Bisons committed six errors in the game.

The loss dropped the Bisons to 8-10. Samford is 7-11.

This weekend the Bisons play their third Atlantic Sun series of the season when Stetson visits. Friday’ game starts at 6. Saturday’s game begins at 2 and Sunday’s game is scheduled to start at 1.