AUGUSTA, Ga. – One day after splitting a doubleheader with Augusta in the Electric City, the Anderson University baseball team opened a three-game road swing with a 12-5 setback to the Jaguars, Sunday afternoon at Lake Olmstead Park.
Anderson slipped to 3-6 on the season with its fifth setback in six outings, while Augusta improved to 4-5 with its fourth win in five decisions.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
Junior Michael Rochester was 2-for-4 at the plate, with a pair of singles. He also scored once and drove in a run. Freshman Dillon Carpenter clubbed his second home run of the season in the fifth inning, while senior Xavier Peralta added a single and a double in four at-bats. Junior Tyler Miller scored a pair of runs.
Sophomore John McMicking (0-2) took the loss after surrendering six earned runs on 12 hits over six innings of work. The right-hander struck out three and walked a pair of batters.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Jaguars jumped out to a five-run lead with a pair of runs in the first, a solo run in the second and another two runs in the third inning.
The Trojans got on the scoreboard when Carpenter led off the fifth inning with a home run over the fence in right field, for the Trojans first hit of the day.
AU trimmed the deficit to 5-2 with another run in the top of the sixth, when Miller reached on a fielder's choice and moved into scoring position on an error. He went to third on a wild pitch and crossed the plate when William Thomas grounded out to the right side of the infield. Augusta took advantage of a pair of two-out singles in the bottom of the inning to build its lead to 6-2.
The Trojans threatened again in the seventh after sophomore Carson Barrett went the opposite way for a one-out single, but was thrown out at third for the second out on Xavier Peralta's double down the left-field line. Sophomore Jackson Strange followed with a walk to get two runners on base, but the Black and Gold was unable to capitalize, while Augusta built a 12-2 lead with six runs on five hits in the bottom of the inning.
Miller and Thomas led off the eighth frame with back-to-back walks, with Miller crossing the plate when Rochester singled to right-center. He moved to second and Thomas scored on a passed ball, with Rochester scoring when junior Zach McIlroy singled to right, as AU trimmed the deficit to 12-5, but was unable to climb any closer.
NOTABLES
• Rochester leads the Trojans with a .464 batting average and has two base hits in each of his last six games.
• Dillon Carpenter has reached base safely in eight of AU's nine games.
• Miller has reached base safely in six consecutive games and eight of AU's nine contests.
• Peralta has reached base safely in seven of the eight games he's played.
UP NEXT
Anderson continues its three-game road swing by visiting archrival Erskine on Tuesday. First-pitch versus the Flying Fleet is slated for 2 p.m. in Due West, S.C.