Trojans Sweep Season-Opening Three-Game Series with King

Trojans Sweep Season-Opening Three-Game Series with King

ANDERSON, S.C. – The Anderson baseball team pounded out 22 hits, including six for extra bases, and scored 21 runs, as the Trojans swept a nonconference doubleheader with King, 11-6 and 10-9, Saturday afternoon at Memorial Stadium.

Anderson improved to 3-0 on the season with the three-game sweep.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
Game #1
Anderson 11, King 6
Sophomore Tyler Berry was 3-for-5, with three singles in the opener and also drove in a pair of runs. Sophomore designated hitter Chandler Castleberry added three hits, including a solo home run in the fifth inning, and posted two RBI. Junior Daniel Blazejewski was 2-for-5 and drove in three runs with a third-inning triple. Shortstop Jackson Strange reached on a walk and also doubled, while junior Matthew Overton recorded a pair of walks and was also hit by a pitch and scored twice. Junior Dillon Carpenter added a single, a walk and belted a solo homer in the fifth inning.

Senior left-hander Matthew Stanley earned the win after allowing three runs on four hits in five innings of work. He struck out seven Tornado batters and issued four free passes. Junior Christian Carpenter earned his second save in as many games by working a perfect 1 1/3 innings to close down the Tornado.

Game #2
Anderson 10, King 9
Dillon Carpenter was 2-for-3 in the nightcap, while scoring three times and homering for the third straight game. Junior Cody Adams added a pair of singles and crossed the plate twice, with senior Brandon Odachowski notching two singles and driving in three runs. Jackson Strange scored twice, while Joseph Strange reached on a walk and doubled in the decisive seventh inning.

Senior Christian Hendrix captured the win with two innings of relief. The left-hander struck out one batter and walked three.

HOW IT HAPPENED
Game 1
The Tornado took advantage of two extra-base hits in the top of the first inning and jumped out a quick 2-0 lead, with AU countering with a solo run in the bottom of the frame when Adams led off with a single back up the middle and crossed the plate on a two-out fielding error by the Tornado.

AU took the lead for good on Blazejewski's two-out, three-run triple in the bottom of the third inning and after King added a run in the top of the fourth frame, Dillon Carpenter and Castleberry hammered back-to-back solo home runs to push the Trojans' lead to 6-3.

King climbed within one run by scoring twice in the seventh inning, but the Trojans countered with a pair of runs in the bottom of the frame to build an 8-5 advantage and after the Tornado scored one last time in the eighth, AU added three more runs in the bottom of the eighth to set the final score.

Game 2
The Trojans rallied from an early four-run deficit by plating four runs of their own in the third inning. King responded by taking the lead again by scoring a solo run in the fourth inning, while AU scored four times for the second consecutive inning to claim an 8-5 advantage after four full innings.

But the lead didn't last long, as King knotted the score at eight apiece with three runs in the fifth inning and took a brief lead with another run in the sixth inning. Carpenter answered by notching his third home run in two days to even the score at 9-9 heading into the final inning.

The Tornado threatened in the top of the frame, but came away empty-handed to set up a frantic final at-bat for the Black and Gold. Joseph Strange led off by doubling down the left-field line and sophomore Dalton Shaw came in to pinch-run. After reaching base on a walk and getting hit by a pitch earlier in the game, sophomore Will O'Brien laid down a sacrifice bunt that the Tornado pitcher managed to field, but he threw wildly past third base while trying to nail Shaw and the Hilton Head Island, S.C., native raced home with the winning run.

UP NEXT
Anderson will get back on the diamond Tuesday afternoon, when Young Harris invades the Electric City. First-pitch is scheduled for 3 p.m. at Memorial Stadium.