ANDERSON, S.C. - Anderson's Ryan Saxon and Wingate University junior outfielder Dodson McPherson and redshirt sophomore first baseman Brian Yeung each contributed two-run homers as the Bulldogs survived 9-7 over the Trojans in South Atlantic Conference baseball action Friday night at Anderson Memorial Stadium.
With the victory, Wingate improves to 25-19 overall and 12-10 in the SAC. Anderson falls to 18-24 overall and 9-13 in the SAC. The Bulldogs and the Trojans will play a doubleheader Saturday. The first pitch is slated for 1 p.m.
McPherson broke a 5-5 tie with a towering home run in the top of the seventh inning. His blast scored junior shortstop Chris Vazquez, who had started the pivotal frame with a walk. Two outs later, Bulldog junior designated hitter Jacob Karr tripled to right-center field. Karr's three-bagger chased AU sophomore starter TJ Estes. An RBI single by freshman third baseman Cody Shelton scored Karr.
The Trojans made things interesting with two runs in the bottom of the seventh inning, cutting their deficit to 8-7. Anderson junior shortstop Thomas Prado got things started with a single through the left side. Senior second baseman Ryan Saxon hit a double down the left field line, scoring Prado all the way from first.
Saxon moved to third on a wild pitch. He scored on a ground out by sophomore first baseman Erick Sanderson. Wingate senior relief pitcher Drew Boyer settled down, striking out AU junior third baseman Blake May for the second out. Boyer got sophomore designated hitter Tony Price on a pop-out to end the seventh frame.
Wingate added a huge insurance run in the top of the ninth. Bulldog senior catcher Taylor Honeycutt did the honors, contributing an RBI sacrifice fly to score Karr, who had reached on a single.
Bulldog freshman reliever Stephen Vaughan saved the victory in relief of senior left-hander Chris Nelson. Vaughan struck out the side in the bottom of the eighth inning. He retired the Trojans one-two-three in the bottom of the ninth inning, ending the game with a strikeout. Vaughan pitched two innings, facing the minimum six batters.
Anderson scored three runs in bottom of the first inning to take an early lead. Trojan junior center fielder Jonathan Romano started the proceedings with a single. Padro grounded out to move Romano to second. Saxon followed with his sixth home run of the season. He leads the Trojans with 36 RBI. Sanderson drew a full-count walk. He scored one out later on an RBI single by Price.
Wingate junior left fielder Casey Allison got the Bulldogs on the board with a solo home run to lead off the second inning. The visitors scored three runs with two outs to take a 4-3 lead in the third. Vazquez hit a solo home run, McPherson reached on an error and Yeung followed with a homer to give Wingate the lead.
Anderson knotted the score at 4-4 in the fifth. Saxon doubled and moved to third on a fly-out by Sanderson. Saxon scored on a Nelson wild pitch. Wingate took a brief 5-4 edge in the sixth, as Karr led off with a double and scored on a Shelton single. Anderson tied the score in the bottom of the sixth on an RBI fielder's choice by Romano.
The Bulldogs posted 17 hits. Both Karr and Shelton had three each. Shelton recorded two RBI, while Karr scored three runs. McPherson, Yeung, Allison and Honeycutt had two hits each for the visitors. Saxon led Anderson with three hits and three RBI. Price had two hits.
Boyer collected the victory for the Bulldogs, leveling his 2011 slate at 2-2 overall. In his team-best 19th appearance, Boyer allowed two runs on two hits in 1 2/3 innings. Vaughan earned his fourth save following his perfect two innings. Nelson gave up five runs on eight hits in 5 1/3 innings. He struck out seven and walked two. Collectively, the Bulldog pitching trio recorded 12 strikeouts.
Estes took the loss for the Trojans. He is 3-3 overall. Estes gave up eight runs (six earned) on 12 hits in 6 2/3 innings. He struck out three and walked one.
