MARS HILL, N.C. - Behind its second consecutive stellar pitching outing in as many days in the opener, Anderson split a South Atlantic Conference baseball doubleheader with Mars Hill, edging the Lions 2-1 in the first contest, but saw Mars Hill rally for a 14-13 win in the nightcap, Saturday afternoon at Henderson Field.

Anderson notched its first back-to-back wins of the season with the win and was bidding to posted its first three-game sweep of a SAC opponent since knocking off the Lions three straight times to open last season's conference slate. The Trojans improved to 10-17 overall and 5-7 in the conference, with Mars Hill moving to 21-10 overall and 7-5 in the SAC.

Game #1
Anderson 2, Mars Hill 1
Senior Steven Cooper reached base in all four at-bats with a single and three walks, while fellow senior LJ Newman added a fourth-inning double. Outfielder Garrett Bernardo scored one of the Trojan runs, while junior Xavier Peralta also crossed the plate once and posted a ninth-inning single. Freshman Bryce Patrick added a single, while freshman Carson Barrett drove in the winning run with a pinch-hit, two-RBI double in the bottom of the ninth.

For the second consecutive afternoon, a trio of Trojan hurlers notched an outstanding effort on the mound, with junior Ryan Owens allowing just two hits and one unearned run in seven innings. Sophomore right-hander Andrew Dill improved to 3-0 on the season by tossing the eighth inning. He struck out one and did not allow a hit or walk a batter. Senior Brock Goodling tossed the ninth frame and earned his league-leading fifth save of the campaign while allowing one hit and striking out one.

Mars Hill capitalized on the first of three Trojan errors to score their lone run of the contest in the bottom of the first inning. AU threatened to even the score by loading the bases with one out in the top of the fourth, but was unable to push the equalizer across the plate.

Down to their final two outs, the Trojans saw Bernardo reach base on an error with one out and move into scoring position when Peralta pulled a single through the left side. Barrett then delivered his pinch-hit heroics by ripping a double into right-center, plating both Bernardo and Peralta.

Game #2
Mars Hill 14, Anderson 13
Senior Kyle Bailey was 2-for-4 in the nightcap, with three runs scored and a pair of RBI. Barrett was 2-for-4 with a run scored and an RBI, while sophomore Michael Rochester added a pair of singles. Fellow sophomore Tyler Miller drove in four runs with a fourth-inning double, a sacrifice fly and a seventh-inning walk with the bases loaded. Newman was 2-for-5 and Cooper added a pair of singles and two RBI. Zach McIlroy and Stephen McKnight combined to score five runs.

Goodling (0-2) suffered the tough-luck loss after surrendering five unearned runs on six hits in 1 2/3 innings of work.

The Trojans snapped a 9-9 tie with four runs in the top of the seventh inning, but were unable to claim the win, as Mars Hill countered with five runs in the bottom of the frame.

Anderson wraps up its five-game road swing by traveling to Due West, S.C., on Tuesday. First-pitch versus the Flying Fleet is scheduled for 3 p.m.