HICKORY, N.C. - The Anderson baseball team dropped the opener of a South Atlantic Conference baseball doubleheader, 6-0, to Lenoir-Rhyne University, but out-slugged the Bears, 9-6, to earn a split Saturday at Bears Field.

Anderson moved to 15-20 overall and 8-10 in league play, while Lenoir-Rhyne improved to 9-26 and 5-12.

Game One - Lenoir-Rhyne 6, Anderson 0
Anderson's Tony Price recorded two of the Trojans' six hits in the opener, while freshman catcher Troy Ambros ripped a seventh-inning two-out double to right-center for AU's lone extra-base hit.

L-R senior Brandon Padgett pitched eight scoreless innings to help lead the Bears to the shutout win, their first of the year. Padgett (2-2) scattered five hits while striking out seven batters in picking up the victory.

Senior designated hitter Brian Dice opened the scoring with an RBI sacrifice fly in the bottom of the third inning which turned out to be all the Bears would need. L-R opened up a 4-0 lead with two runs in the bottom of the sixth inning on run-scoring singles from senior outfielder Stephen Andrews and junior designated hitter Nick Verhein.

Lenoir-Rhyne added single runs in the seventh and eighth innings, respectively, to close out the scoring.

Dice and Verhein each drove in two runs to lead the Bears. The Trojans' Brett Campbell fell to 2-4 after suffering the loss.

Game Two - Anderson 9, Lenoir-Rhyne 6
Anderson scored three runs in the top of the first inning and never looked back in salvaging the split.

The first four batters for Anderson reached base safely, with the Trojans' Blake May pushing the first run across with an RBI-double and Anderson would never trail in the contest. Price followed with a sacrifice fly to center that scored Ryan Saxon and Erick Sanderson singled up the middle with two outs to bring home May.

L-R closed the gap to 3-2 in its half of the first on Dice's two-run single but Anderson responded with an unearned run in each of the second and third frames to push the margin back to three at 5-2.

The two squads would trade three runs in the sixth inning and a single run in the seventh to make it a 9-6 final.

Anderson's Brett Scarberry had a two-run double in the sixth inning, with Price and Sanderson each recording two hits and two RBI apiece. Shortstop Thomas Padro finished with three hits and an RBI.

Senior outfielder Chris LaVenia finished four-for-four and Dice added two hits and two runs batted in for Lenoir-Rhyne despite the loss. L-R senior shortstop Dan Catalano chipped in with three hits as well.

Sanderson (5-3) was credited with the win while L-R freshman Ryan Jones fell to 1-5 after being tagged with the setback.

Anderson plays at North Georgia on Tuesday at 6 p.m., while Lenoir-Rhyne travels to Misenheimer, N.C., to take on Pfeiffer Tuesday at 2:30 p.m.