DAHLONEGA, Ga. – The Anderson baseball team closed out a four-game road swing with a 6-3 setback at North Georgia, Tuesday night at Bob Stein Stadium at Lynn Cottrell Park.
Anderson slipped to 17-20 on the season, while North Georgia improved to 20-16 with its second straight victory and sixth win in seven outings.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
Junior JC LeGrand was 2-for-5 on the night, with a pair of singles and an RBI, while third baseman Jordan Montgomery added a double and a single. Braeden Harrison was 1-for-4, with a solo home run in the seventh inning.
Junior Graham Brown (2-3) took the loss after drawing the start and allowing four runs on five hits over two innings.
HOW IT HAPPENED
A two-out grand slam off the bat of sophomore catcher Jack Davis in the bottom of the second inning gave the Nighthawks an early 4-0 advantage.
The Trojans were limited to three hits through three innings, but Luke Poole led off the fourth frame with a single to right-center and moved to third on Kye Andress' one-out single back up the middle. He then crossed the plate with AU's first run of the night on a passed ball.
North Georgia added a run in its half of the fourth to take a 5-1 lead and neither team managed to push a run across in either the fifth or six innings, while Harrison belted his third home run of the season with one out in the top of the seventh to get the Trojans within 5-2.
But the Nighthawks answered with a two-out run in the bottom of the eighth to rebuild a four-run advantage.
Designated hitter Braydon Owens singled with one out in the top of the ninth to keep it going for the Trojans, with sophomore Brandon Gibbs coming in to pinch run. Following the second out, Gibbs swiped second base and scored on LeGrand's line drive single to right, but it was as close as AU would get on the night.
NOTABLES
• Luke Poole is riding a 13-game hitting streak.
• Carlos Hernandez has reached base safely in 18 straight games.
• The series with North Georgia began in 2001.
• North Georgia leads the overall series, 34-6, but AU snapped a 15-game losing streak at the hands of the Nighthawks and defeated North Georgia for the first time since 2012 with last month's 8-3 victory in Dahlonega.
UP NEXT
The Trojans will get back into conference action by playing host to Carson-Newman in a three-game weekend series. First-pitch at Memorial Stadium is scheduled for Friday night at 6 p.m.
