ANDERSON, S.C. – Using a 17-hit attack, Anderson rolled to a 19-6 win in the opening game of a South Atlantic Conference baseball doubleheader with Lenoir-Rhyne, but dropped an 11-3 decision in the nightcap, Saturday afternoon at Memoria Stadium.
Anderson moved to 4-8 on the season with the split and 1-2 in the conference, while Lenoir-Rhyne moved to 12-5 and 2-1.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
Game #1
Anderson 19, Lenoir-Rhyne 6
Sophomore Matthew Overton was 2-for-3 in the opener, with a pair of doubles, a single and also reached base on a pair of walks. The Spartanburg, S.C., native scored twice and had two RBI. Senior William Thomas was 2-for-3, with a double and a single and recorded three walks, while crossing the plate twice. Sophomore Dillon Carpenter posted two singles and a double, while driving in four runs and scoring three times.
Junior Jackson Strange added a two-run homer and a walk, while scoring two times, with freshman catcher Tyler Berry notching a double and a single in five trips to the plate. Senior Tyler Miller reached base on a single, a walk and was hit by a pitch twice, while scoring twice and recording two RBI. Freshman Chandler Castleberry posted a single and blasted a two-run homer in six at-bats. Designated hitter Brandon Odachowski drove in three runs.
Sophomore Austin Todd (1-2) was the beneficiary of the late-inning offensive explosion and collected the win, while tossing two full innings of relief. The right-hander allowed one run on three hits and struck out one.
Game #2
Lenoir-Rhyne 11, Anderson 3
Castleberry notched one of the Trojans five hits in the nightcap, while Miller recorded a double and a walk. Carpenter and Strange were each 1-for-3, while Odachowski added a single and a walk.
Junior Matthew Stanley (0-1) suffered the setback after giving up four runs on a pair of hits, while fanning three batters and walking two.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Game 1
Lenoir-Rhyne struck first for a solo run in the top of the second inning, then added two more in the third, before the Trojans knotted the score at three apiece on Carpenter's RBI-double and Castleberry's two-run homer.
The Trojans doubled up Lenoir-Rhyne, 6-3, with another three runs in the fifth inning, with Strange doing the damage with a two-run home run over the fence in left-center. But the Bears again tied the score with a three-run sixth, before AU went ahead to stay by posting a pair of runs in the bottom of the sixth. The Trojans broke the game open by sending 16 batters to the plate and erupting for 10 runs in the seventh frame. AU added another run in the eighth to set the final score.
Game 2
After L-R opened the scoring with a run in the first inning, The Trojans took an early 3-1 lead with a run in the bottom of the first and two more in the third inning. But the Trojan offense was stymied the rest of the way, while Lenoir-Rhyne scored in each of the remaining four innings.
ANDERSON STAT OF THE DAY
The 10 runs scored in the seventh inning of game one were the most by AU in an inning this season.
NOTABLES
• The 10 walks drawn by AU batters in the opener were the most this season.
• The 17 hits by Trojan batters in game one were a season high.
• The 19 runs scored in game one were the most since AU defeated Brevard, 19-3, in early April of last season.
• Chandler Castleberry has reached base safely in every game this season.
• Matthew Overton has reached base safely in 11 straight games.
UP NEXT
The Trojans travel to Due West, S.C., on Tuesday for a matchup against longtime rival Erskine. First-pitch against the Flying Fleet is slated for 2 p.m.
