DUE WEST, S.C. - Anderson rallied for three runs in the top of the ninth inning to tie the score, but Erskine junior Phillip Herring's leadoff home run in the bottom of the 10th inning lifted the Flying Fleet to a 9-8 victory over rival Anderson Wednesday afternoon in non conference baseball action at Grier Field.
Anderson (9-23) has dropped four of its last five decisions, including three by one run, while Erskine (16-12) has won three of its last four outings.
The Flying Fleet bolted out to an early lead, scoring five times in the bottom of the first, but the Trojans answered with two unearned runs in the second on an RBI-double by Shawn Delmontagne and an RBI ground out by Thomas Padro.
Erskine's Drew Willingham recorded a solo home run down the
left-field line in the bottom of the fifth made it a 6-2 game, but
AU continued to chip away, adding three runs in the top of the
sixth to cut the Erskine lead to one. Senior third baseman Blake
May and sophomore Paul Como led off the frame with back-to-back
singles, with May moving to third on a throwing error by the Fleet.
Junior Erick Sanderson plated May with a sacrifice fly to center
and Como scored on Delmontagne's single and the Fleet's second
error of the inning. Senior Jonathan Romano's two-out RBI infield
single brought home Delmontagne, trimming the deficit to 6-5.
The Fleet added single runs in the seventh and eighth to make it an
8-5 game heading into the ninth, but AU rallied again to make it a
one-run game on back-to-back RBI singles from Como and Sanderson.
The Trojans tied the game on a sacrifice fly from Brett
Scarberry.
The score remained tied until the bottom of the 10th when Herring led off the inning with his first home run of the season to give the Fleet the walk-off victory
May led the Trojans at the plate, going 4-for-5 with four singles and two runs scored, while Delmontagne and Romano each added two hits in the loss. Delmontagne also crossed the plate twice. Como posted two singles in four at-bats and scored twice. Jacob Saxon (0-2) took the loss, allowing one run on one hit in one inning pitched.
With the win, the Fleet earn a point in the battle for the
prestigious Beville Cup, which
Anderson currently leads, 7 ½ -6. There are five points up
for grabs, with baseball, softball and golf outstanding.
AU has claimed four of last five Beville Cup honors - originally known as the Anderson/Erskine Cup, the competition between Erskine and Anderson's athletics programs that was established in the fall of 2003 and is sponsored by ARAMARK in order to promote and enhance the rivalry between the Trojans and Flying Fleet.
Anderson opens a three-game South Atlantic Conference series at Mars Hill on Friday. First-pitch versus the Lions is slated for 3 p.m.
