HICKORY, N.C. - The Anderson baseball team closed out its South Atlantic Conference slate with its second 5-4 setback in as many days, as the Trojans fell to Lenoir-Rhyne Sunday afternoon night at Bears Field.

Anderson (19-30, 9-15 SAC) suffered its fourth consecutive setback, while
Lenoir-Rhyne (33-17, 12-12 SAC) claimed its fourth straight win.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
Anderson senior Kyle Bailey was 3-for-5 on the afternoon, with a double, a pair of singles and two RBI, while fellow senior Steven Cooper added a pair of singles. Freshman Carson Barrett posted a pair of singles and drove in a run.

Junior right-hander Ryan Owens gave up 12 hits in 6 2/3 innings on the mound for the Trojans, but limited the Bears to just two runs in his 11th start of the season. He struck out four batters and did not issue a walk. Junior left-hander Colby Tollison (0-2) was tagged with the loss after surrendering three earned runs in 2/3 of an inning.

HOW IT HAPPENED
The Bears took advantage of an error in the bottom of the second inning to post an unearned run and take the early 1-0 lead. AU answered with a run in the top of the third when Matthew Powell opened the inning with the Trojans' first walk of the day. He moved into scoring position on Jacob Smith's sacrifice bunt and crossed the plate two batters later on Bailey's clutch two-out double to left-center.

The Trojans added three runs in the fifth inning when Smith coaxed a one-out walk and promptly swiped his second stolen base of the year. Sophomore Tyler Miller followed with the first of his two walks on the afternoon and went to third on Bailey's second-straight RBI-hit, with Smith crossing the plate. Senior LJ Newman and Barrett followed with back-to-back singles to score both Miller and Bailey.

But Lenoir-Rhyne countered with a run in the seventh inning and took the lead with a three-run eighth to grab the victory.

STAT OF THE GAME
Of the combined 25 hits on the afternoon, only four were for extra bases.

NOTABLES
• Cooper has reached base safely in 36 of his last 39 contests.
• Newman has recorded at least one base hit in 20 of his last 23 games
• Miller has reached base safely in 42 of his 47 games this season.
• Bailey has a hit in 11 of his last 13 games.

UP NEXT
The Trojans are slated to wrap up the season by playing host to Erskine Monday night. First-pitch at Memorial Stadium is set for 7 p.m.