ANDERSON, S.C. – With the bottom half of the batting order posting half the Trojan hits on the day, the Anderson baseball team swept its three-game midweek series with Felician by defeating the Golden Falcons, 5-2, Wednesday at Memorial Stadium.
Anderson (9-8) has won five straight and moved above .500 for the first time this season, while Felician (4-8) suffered its fifth loss in six outings.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
Freshman Gray Wells notched a two-hit day, with a single and his first career triple. The Chapin native also scored AU's first run of the game. Junior James Hanvey added an RBI-double, with junior Jackson Van Ness reaching base after getting hit by a pitch and on a fifth-inning single. JC LeGrand and Brayden Owens each posted singles and scored unearned runs in the fourth inning. Kye Andress was 1-for-3 on the day, with a single and an RBI. Leadoff hitter Justin Fox also had one of AU's six singles.
Junior Cory Ritchie (1-0) captured the win after tossing an inning of relief. He allowed a single and fanned one of the four batters he faced.
Junior Jonathan Duffie collected his first save of the season after notching the final two outs in the top of the ninth.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Felician took advantage of a pair of singles and a walk to grab an early 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning, while Wells evened the score in the bottom of the second frame by ripping a two-out single back up the middle and crossing the plate on Hanvey's first double of the season – a shot to left field.
The Trojans took the lead by plating a pair of unearned runs in the bottom of the fourth, when LeGrand beat out a leadoff bunt. Two batters later, Owens hit a liner to straightaway center that got past the Felician center fielder. LeGrand scored the go-ahead run on the miscue and Owens was sent home after the Golden Falcon defense threw the ball into the third base dugout while attempting to get him out at third.
Felician trimmed AU's lead to three with a solo run in the seventh and loaded the bases with just one out in the top of the ninth before Duffie came on to record a strikeout for the second out and recorded the final out on a fielder's choice.
STAT OF THE GAME
The two teams combined to use 13 pitchers in the midweek contest.
NOTABLES
• Owens is currently riding a 10-game hitting streak.
• JC LeGrand has reached base safely in 11 consecutive games.
• The Golden Falcons have yet to play a home game this season.
• James Hanvey and Kye Andress have each reached base safely in seven straight games.
• Owens, Fox and Jordan Montgomery share the team lead with five multi-hit games apiece.
UP NEXT
The Trojans will open their South Atlantic Conference slate with a three-game series against Lenoir-Rhyne, beginning with a Saturday afternoon doubleheader and wrapping up with a single contest, Sunday afternoon. First-pitch at Memorial Stadium on Saturday is slated for 2 p.m.
