ANDERSON, S.C. – With shortstop Kye Andress ripping five base hits, scoring three runs and driving in three runs, the Anderson baseball swept a nonconference doubleheader with Clarion, 6-2 and 6-3, Friday afternoon at Memorial Stadium.
Anderson stayed perfect on the season with its ninth consecutive win, while Clarion fell to 0-2.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
Game #1
Anderson 6, Clarion 2
Andress was 2-for-4 in the opener, with a pair of singles and scored both times he reached base. The Hendersonville, N.C., native also drove in a pair of runs with his fourth-inning single. First baseman William Laffin added a pair of singles and scored a run and in three trips to the plate, while Jackson Van Ness also notched two singles and crossed the plate once in three at-bats. Junior Carlos Hernandez was 1-for-3 in the opener, with a two-RBI single in the first inning. James Hanvey was also 1-for-3 and drew a walk in four trips to the plate.
PITCHERS
Joseph Cottone (2-0) earned the win after tossing six full innings and striking out a career-high 12 batters. The left-hander walked two batters and surrendered just two runs. Jackson Herring captured his second save of the season after working out of a jam and retiring the three Clarion batters he faced in the top of the seventh inning.
Game #2
Anderson 6, Clarion 3
Andress was 3-for-4 in the nightcap, with a double and a pair of singles. He also drove in a run and scored a run. Laffin was 1-for-2, with a double and also reached base on a fifth-inning walk. Justin Fox was hit by a pitch twice and scored both times.
PITCHERS
Junior Nathan Ledford collected his first win of the season after tossing five innings and limiting the Golden Eagles to a pair of runs on four hits. He fanned six batters and did not issue a free pass. Jonathan Duffie worked a perfect six inning, while Trey Princiotto allowed a run on two hits, while striking out two in the seventh inning.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Game 1
The Trojans sent eight batters to the plate in the bottom of the opening inning and jumped out to an early 3-0 lead. The Golden Eagles countered with a solo run in the top of the second inning, while AU added another three runs in the bottom of the fourth frame to build a 6-1 cushion.
Clarion tacked on another run in the fifth inning, but would get no closer over the final two innings.
Game 2
AU struck first with an unearned run in the bottom of the first inning, but the Golden Eagles took their first lead of the afternoon by plating a pair of runs in their half of the second frame.
The Trojans knotted the score at 2-2 when Fox led off the second frame by getting hit by a pitch and scored on Andress' two-out single through the left side. The Black and Gold took the lead for good by adding a solo run in the fourth, two runs in fifth and another run in the sixth.
Clarion trimmed the Trojan lead to three with a run in the top of the seventh on the strength of a single and a double.
NOTABLES
• Friday afternoon's twin bill marked AU's second nonconference doubleheader of the season.
• Brayden Owens belted the Trojans' first home run of the season - a one-out shot in the bottom of the fifth inning in the second game that gave AU a 4-2 lead.
• Kye Andress and JC LeGrand are both riding nine-game hitting streaks.
• James Hanvey has reached base safely in seven consecutive games.
• AU leads the South Atlantic Conference with five triples and the Trojan pitching staff leads the SAC with a 2.22 ERA.
UP NEXT
The Trojans and Golden Eagles will wrap up their four-game series with another doubleheader on Saturday. First-pitch is scheduled for 1 p.m. at Memorial Stadium.
