ANDERSON, S.C. - Headlined by outfielder Nick Bernardo's walk-off single in the final at-bat of the day, Anderson University baseball added a pair of South Atlantic Conference victories over Lincoln Memorial, 4-1 and 2-1, Saturday afternoon at Anderson Memorial Stadium.

With the back-to-back victories, the Trojans clinch a spot into next week's SAC Tournament for the second consecutive year, as they jump to 20-27 for the season with a 14-15 mark in league play. The Railsplitters, who were playing for seeding in next week's tournament, fall to 24-20 overall with a 15-12 record in SAC action.

The Black and Gold posted a combined 14 hits for the twin bill, as junior outfielder Garrett Bernardo paced the club with four hits for the afternoon, highlighted by a three-hit game in the opener. The Trojan trio of senior Brett Cash, redshirt sophomore Stephen McKnight and freshman Tyler Miller posted multi-hit games for the afternoon, as all three players notched extra-base hits for the day.

In the first game of the doubleheader, redshirt freshman left-hander Nick Contafio tossed seven scoreless innings en route to his third victory of the season. Contafio allowed just six hits and issued two walks, while striking out four Railsplitter hitters in the span. Junior right-hander Mitchell Cooksey closed the door on LMU with two complete innings and one strikeout.

AU scored a run in the second and in the third, as Nick Bernardo drove in Garett Bernardo on a single to open the game's scoring, while a lead-off triple by Miller in the third propelled AU to a 2-0 lead after three innings. The Trojans put the game out of reach in the fourth when McKnight tripled to the right-center field gap and was eventually brought home by a Travis Smith single. A batter later, Garrett Bernardo scored McKnight on a single to put AU ahead, 4-0.

Lincoln Memorial attempted a late comeback in ninth with a single run, but a Cooksey strikeout with two outs sealed the conference victory over the Railsplitters.

In the final contest of the afternoon, LMU opened scoring in the first inning, as lead-off hitter Scott Miller scored on a Kyle Floyd single to put the visitors ahead 1-0 after an inning. Anderson answered in the bottom of the third when Cash tripled to the deepest part of the ballpark and scored Miller to hand the Trojans their first run of the game.

After both teams could not find the scoreboard for the next 3.5 innings, AU began its late-inning heroics in the bottom of the seventh. As the Trojan offense tallied just one hit since Cash's triple in the third, Garrett Bernardo snapped the slump with a double into the left-center gap. The double was Bernardo's eighth of the season.

With his brother, Nick, following him in the lineup, the outfielder sent a 1-1 pitch into center field for a base hit. Getting the green light around third base, the throw from outfielder Wes Neiderland was late getting to plate, scoring Garrett Bernardo and sealing the doubleheader sweep for the Black and Gold. The win gives Anderson its second straight series win over the Railsplitters after capturing two-of-three from LMU in Harrogate a season ago.

With the forecast calling for the rain on Sunday, the final game of the three-game series has been cancelled. The Trojans are scheduled to return to the diamond on Monday when they celebrate Senior Day with their fourth matchup with Southern Wesleyan this season. First pitch from Anderson Memorial Stadium is slated for 6 p.m.

Game 1 Box Score
Game 2 Box Score