ANDERSON, S.C. – After having the twin bill postponed twice due to weather issues, Carlos Hernandez hammered a three-run homer in the seventh inning of the opener to tie the contest and Nick Vella belted a two-run homer in the eighth to lift the Anderson baseball team to a 5-4 win over Catawba, Sunday afternoon, while the Indians prevailed, 14-11, in extra innings in the nightcap at Memorial Stadium.
Anderson moved to 14-5 overall and 1-4 in South Atlantic Conference action with the split, while Catawba went to 13-10 and 3-2.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
Game #1
Anderson 5, Catawba 4
Hernandez and Vella provided the offensive firepower for the Trojans as the veteran duo combined to score three times and drive in all five runs for the Black and Gold.
Landon Henley collected his first win of the season after turning in two innings of relief. He allowed one hit, while striking out four batters and walking one. Jackson Herring claimed his third save of the year by tossing the final 2/3 of an inning in the ninth. He fanned one batter.
Game #2
Catawba 14, Anderson 11 (8 Innings)
Jaxon Young was 3-for-4 in the nightcap, with three singles. He also drove in three runs and crossed the plate twice. Justin Fox was 2-for-4 at the plate, with two singles and also drew a fifth-inning walk. He posted an RBI and scored a pair of runs. Hernandez notched his second home run of the day – a two-run shot in the fourth inning - to go along with a single. Kye Andress notched a pair of singles and two walks in six trips to the plate, while Jackson Van Ness added two singles.
Trey Princiotto (2-2), the sixth Trojan hurler, absorbed the setback after allowing three runs on two hits, while walking two and striking out three over the final two innings.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Game 1
Catawba jumped out to a 3-0 lead after two innings, but the Trojan pitching staff held the defending SAC regular-season champions scoreless over the next six innings, while Hernandez' second home run of the season – a three-run shot over the left-field fence in the bottom of the seventh inning – knotted the score at 3-3.
Then, with two outs in the bottom of the eighth inning, Vella drove a fly ball to deep center that grazed the top of the fence on its way over and plated pinch-hitter Luke Poole, who led off the inning with a walk.
Game 2
Catawba scored in every inning but the seventh in the nightcap and jumped out to a 6-0 lead after 2 ½ innings. But AU countered with four runs in the bottom of the third to keep the Indians close.
Each time the visitors scored, the Trojans answered and the score was deadlocked at 11-11 after six innings. Neither squad managed to score in the seventh frame, but Catawba's Carlos Lara lofted a two-out fly over the fence in left-center with a pair of runners on base that gave the Indians a three-run lead. AU managed to get a pair of runners on base in its half of the inning, but was unable to push any runs across the plate.
STAT OF THE DAY
The nightcap lasted nearly four hours and featured 25 runs, 24 hits, 22 walks and 25 runners left on base, with the two teams combining to use 36 players, including 12 pitchers.
NOTABLES
• The Trojans improved to 10-1 at home on the season.
• The Trojans and Indians have met on 46 occasions, with Catawba leading the all-time series, 35-11.
• The Indians have won nine of the last 12 meetings.
• Carlos Hernandez is riding an 11-game hitting streak.
• Nick Vella stretched his hitting streak to eight games.
UP NEXT
The Trojans and Indians will wrap up the series on Monday, with game time set for 2 p.m. at Memorial Stadium.
