ROCK HILL, S.C. - After the South Atlantic Conference schedule came to a close on Sunday, Anderson University baseball has been slotted as the sixth seed in next week's SAC Tournament and will meet seventh-seeded Brevard in an opening round game on Thursday at 7 p.m. from McNair Field in Forest City, N.C, announced by the league office on Sunday.
With the tournament field expanding to eight teams for the first time in conference history, the bottom-four seeds in the tournament will play in an elimination game, with the winner advancing into the field-of-six. Fifth-seeded Wingate and eight-seeded Carson-Newman will play in the first opening round game scheduled for 4 p.m.
This is the second straight year the Trojans have advanced to the SAC Tournament after missing the annual event in AU's first three seasons in the conference. Last season, Anderson suffered back-to-back setbacks to top-seeded Catawba and fifth-seeded Tusculum to close its postseason.
The Trojans square off with Brevard for the fourth time this season, as Anderson captured a three-game series over the Tornados on April 4 with a pair of triumphs. Within the series, junior first baseman Steven Cooper blasted a walk-off two-run homer to hand the Black and Gold their first win of the set of Friday, April 3. A day later, the Trojans clinched the home series with a 6-0 shutout, marking their second shutout over a conference team this season.
Most recently, Anderson earned its berth into the SAC Tournament with a two-game sweep of Lincoln Memorial on Saturday. With the back-to-back victories, the Trojans carry a 20-27 overall record, with the regular-season finale scheduled for Monday, while finishing with a 14-15 mark against SAC teams. The 14 league wins marks the most by the program since entering the SAC before the 2011 season.
Brevard, which is scheduled to play two nonconference games this week, boasts a 19-25 overall record while closing its league schedule with a 13-16 mark. Since a win over Anderson in the series opener on April 3, the Tornados have gone 2-5, but their two victories in the stretch came at Tusculum to claim their spot into the SAC Tournament.
With a win over BC on Thursday, Anderson would advance into the field-of-six and will meet either top-seeded Catawba or second-seeded Newberry, pending the result of the other opening round game with Wingate and Carson-Newman. The advancing team with the lowest seed will face the Indians, while the higher seed will lock up with the Wolves on Friday.
Anderson wraps up its regular season on Monday when it welcomes Southern Wesleyan to Memorial Stadium for Senior Day. First pitch against the Warriors is slated for 6 p.m.
Thursday, April 23 (at Forest City,
N.C.)
#5 Wingate vs. #8 Carson-Newman, 4:00pm
#6 Anderson vs. #7 Brevard, 7:00pm
Friday, April 24 (at Forest City,
N.C.)
#1 Catawba vs. lowest seed from GM 1 & 2, Noon
#2 Newberry vs. highest seed from GM 1 & 2, 3:45pm
#3 Tusculum vs. #4 Lincoln Memorial, 7:30pm
Saturday, April 25 (at Forest City,
N.C.)
GM 3 loser vs. GM 4 loser, Noon
GM 3 winner vs. GM 5 loser, 3:45pm
GM 4 winner vs. GM 5 winner, 7:30pm
Sunday, April 26 (at Forest City,
N.C.)
GM 7 winner vs. GM 8 winner, Noon
GM 6 winner vs. GM 8 loser, 3:45pm
GM 10 winner vs. GM 9 loser, 7:30pm
Monday, April 27 (at Forest City,
N.C.)
GM 9 winner vs. GM 11 winner, 1:00pm
if necessary, 4:00pm
TOURNAMENT
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