ANDERSON, S.C. - On an evening where its seven seniors were celebrated, Anderson University baseball found itself behind early and its comeback bid fell short, as the Trojans dropped their regular-season finale to nonconference opponent Southern Wesleyan, 10-8, Tuesday evening at Anderson Memorial Stadium.
With the setback, the Trojans close the regular season with a 20-28 overall record with sights set on the South Atlantic Conference Tournament on Thursday. The Warriors, who evened up the season-long series against AU with their second straight win over the Black and Gold, improve to 15-32 for the year.
The Trojans knocked four home runs on the evening, as junior catcher LJ Newman and graduate student Nick Bernardo recorded two homers apiece. For Newman, the junior increased his home run total to nine, which ties teammate Steven Cooper for the team lead, while Bernardo pounded his second and third home runs this season.
Freshman third baseman Tyler Miller added three hits, including a pair of infield singles, to join Newman and Bernardo with multi-hit performances. The trio combined for seven of the team's nine hits for the evening, as seniors Hogan Stoner and Shawn Delmontagne made the most of their Senior Nights with a single apiece.
AU sent out 10 different pitches on the evening, as starter, senior Spencer Earle, tossed the most innings with two complete. Earle did not allow a run and struck out three SWU hitters in his final start at Memorial Stadium. Also completing an inning was senior JT Trujillo, who struck out one hitter in the eighth, and classmate Evan Jordan, who held Southern Wesleyan scoreless in the ninth. Both Trujillo and Jordan also played in their final games at Memorial Stadium, as they combined to hold SWU hitless in the final two innings.
After two scoreless innings to open the clash, the Warriors crossed four runs in the top of the third, as the visitors recorded three doubles for the frame. Facing the deficit, Anderson bounced back with five runs in the fourth, as Newman knocked a two-run homer, follow by Bernardo's three-run shot to hand the home side a 5-4 advantage.
After both teams came up empty in the fifth, SWU broke the game open with five runs in the top of the sixth. Warrior Daniel Coleman clubbed a three-run home run to headline the inning for the eventual game-winning runs.
AU tried to inch itself back into contention with a solo home run off the bat of Newman in the sixth, followed by a two-run homer from Bernardo in the eighth. Despite the homers, the runs would be the only scores the Trojans would claim for the remainder of the contest, as the Warriors captured the nonconference win, 10-8.
Outfielder Justin Brew led the visitors with three hits, as the top six hitters in the Southern Wesleyan lineup recorded multi-hit games. SWU also totaled six extra-base hits for the evening, including a pair of doubles from Johnny Ponder and Coleman's home run.
The Trojans return to the diamond on Thursday for the opening round of the SAC Tournament when they square off with Brevard for the fourth time this season. First pitch from McNair Field in Forest City, N.C. is scheduled for 7 p.m.
