Samford RHP Ben Petschke (Photo by Chase Cochran)

Samford wins pitchers’ duel that lived up to hype

AUBURN, Ala. — The matchup between Samford righthander Jacob Cravey and Southern Miss righthander Tanner Hall, the pitchers of the year in the SoCon and Sun Belt, respectively, was one of the best pitching matchups on the board for Friday’s opening day of regionals. 

And it lived up to every bit of the pregame hype in a contest that Samford eventually won 4-2 in 10 innings to advance to Saturday evening’s winners’ bracket. 

Hall came into the game with more pedigree and name recognition, but there was really very little daylight between the two starting pitchers statistically. 

The ERAs? 2.23 for Hall and[…]