DAHLONEGA, Ga. – With nearly every batter in the lineup either posting a hit or scoring a run, the Anderson baseball team opened a four-game road swing by getting back in the win column with a wire-to-wire, 8-3, victory over North Georgia, Tuesday night at Bob Stein Stadium at Lynn Cottrell Park.

Anderson improved to 16-13 on the season with its seventh win in eight decisions and improved to 6-3 on the road this season, while North Georgia (14-13) slipped to 9-10 at home on the season with its third loss in four outings.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
Designated hitter Brandon Gibbs was 3-for-4 at the plate, with a pair of singles and a double. The sophomore from Columbia also drew a walk, drove in a run and scored once. Senior Justin Fox reached base four times in five trips to the plate, with a two-run single, a walk and a double, while also getting hit by a pitch in the first inning. Senior Luke Poole added a pair of singles, drove in a run and crossed the plate once.

Senior catcher Carlos Hernandez drove in three runs behind a two-run single, a sacrifice fly and a ninth-inning walk. Junior JC LeGrand reached base on a first-inning walk and a fifth-inning walk and scored both times. Freshman Braeden Harrison added a single and a walk.

Freshman Cole Davis (1-0) was credited with the win after allowing just three runs on five hits over 5.0 innings of work on the mound. Freshman Mac Ketchin surrendered just a pair of singles and struck out three Nighthawks over four innings of relief.

HOW IT HAPPENED
LeGrand led off the game with the first of six walks by the Trojans on the night, with Fox following up by getting hit by a pitch for the seventh time this season. Both runners crossed the plate on a one-out single by Hernandez to give AU a quick 2-0 lead.

The Trojans extended their lead to 4-0 on Fox's clutch two-out single that brought home both Gibbs and Harrison in the top of the second. The Nighthawks countered with a solo home run off the bat of Brady Skipper in the bottom of the frame, with AU getting the run back in the fifth when LeGrand led off with a double and crossed the plate three batters later on a sacrifice fly by Hernandez.

A two-run homer by UNG's Riley Frost in the bottom of the sixth trimmed the Trojans' advantage to 5-3, but Ketchin came on in the sixth to end the threat.

Poole led off the AU eighth inning with a single, stole second, then moved to third and scored on back-to-back wild pitches, with AU rounding out the scoring with a pair of two-out runs in the top of the ninth.

NOTABLES
• Carlos Hernandez is riding a 10-game hitting streak.
• Luke Poole and Anthony Pandolfi have each reached base safely in their last six games.
• The last time the Trojans defeated North Georgia was with a 2-0 shutout in Dahlonega during the 2012 campaign.
• The Trojans snapped a 15-game losing streak at the hands of the Nighthawks.
• The series between the Trojans and Nighthawks began in 2001.
• North Georgia leads the overall series 33-6.

UP NEXT
Anderson will get back on the diamond this weekend, when the Trojans visit UVA Wise for a three-game South Atlantic Conference series. First-pitch against the Cavaliers is scheduled for Friday at 4 p.m.