ANDERSON, S.C. – A big day at the plate from sophomore Gray Wells (Chapin, S.C.) and senior Carlos Hernandez (Maracay, Venezuela) as well as a brilliant start on the mound from senior Ivan VanBeverhoudt Jr. (Orlando, Fla.) boosted the Anderson University (8-6) baseball team to a 20-8 decision over the Oilers of the University of Findlay (1-7) at Anderson Memorial Stadium on Tuesday, February 27.
Wells turned in a 2-for-4 day at the plate while recording five RBIs, four of which came on a grand slam. Hernandez led the squad with four hits on the afternoon, adding three RBIs to the Trojans tally. Junior Brandon Gibbs (Columbia, S.C.) added a pair of RBIs on the afternoon along with a pair from senior Kevin Sosa (Deltona, Fla.).
Vanbeverhoudt Jr. was the leading man in a cast of great pitching performances in the contest as he tossed four innings, allowing just one run while fanning eight batters along the way to pick up the win. Graduate Ben Thornton (Greer, S.C.) continued to rack up the strikeouts on the day for the Anderson pitching staff as he added four over two innings of work.
There were only three innings of scoring in the contest for the Trojans, but in every inning they scored they were able to put up a crooked number. That started in the bottom of the first as after a pair of lead-off walks, the Trojans strung together four-straight singles that that brought around four runs to give them the same advantage. A sacrifice fly, an RBI-single and a defensive miscue allowed Anderson to score the other three runs in the frame and take the 7-0 lead into the second.
Findlay was able to post a run in the top of the fourth, but that led to the Trojans next big inning as they were able to turn in six runs in bottom of the fifth to further extend their advantage. Those runs were scored on a defensive miscue, an RBI-double by junior Wesley Mann (Gulf Breeze, Fla.) and the aforementioned grand slam by Wells, bringing Anderson's lead to 13-1.
After making wholesale changes to the line-up entering the seventh inning, the Trojans continued to pour on the offense as they were able to tack on seven more runs in the frame. A trio of RBI-singles, a hard groundout and a two-RBI triple by Gibbs lifted the Trojan lead to 20-1. Findlay was able to scratch across four runs in the eighth and three more in the top of the ninth but would only put a small dent in the Trojans scoreline as Anderson secured the 20-8 win.
Anderson continues a four-game homestand as they welcome Emory & Henry to Anderson Memorial Stadium this weekend for a three-game conference series. The weekend kicks off on Friday with a 4:00 p.m. first pitch and wraps up with a doubleheader on Saturday, March 2 starting at noon.
