ANDERSON, S.C. – The Anderson baseball team is set to close out its South Atlantic Conference slate with a three-game make-or-break weekend series at Tusculum, Friday and Saturday. First-pitch for Friday night's series opener is scheduled for 6 p.m., with the series set to conclude with a Saturday afternoon doubleheader, with first-pitch slated for 1 p.m.
WHO: Anderson Trojans (22-23, 10-10 SAC) vs. Tusculum Pioneers (24-20, 10-11 SAC)
WHERE: Newman Park; Greeneville, Tenn.
WHEN: Friday, 6 p.m. / Saturday, 1 p.m. (DH)
COVERAGE
Live Stats: AUTROJANS.COM
Live Video: AUTROJANS.COM
THE TROJANS
AU is coming off an 18-9 setback two nights ago at Belmont Abbey, but has won five of its last seven outings, including four straight conference contests to remain in the hunt for a postseason appearance.
NOTABLES
• The Trojans are seeking their fourth SAC series win of the season.
• AU's 10 league victories already matches its 10 SAC wins from 2021, while the 2018 squad won 12 conference contests.
• The Trojans are in sixth place in the battle for a spot in the eight-team SAC Tournament, which begins in eight days.
• With three conference games left on its schedule, AU trails Carson-Newman and Catawba - which are tied for fourth place - by four games.
• The Trojans lead Lincoln Memorial, Limestone and Tusculum by a ½ game.
• The Trojans lead 10th-place Mars Hill by 3 ½ games.
• Lincoln Memorial is scheduled to close out its conference slate at home against Emory & Henry this weekend.
• Limestone will wrap up its SAC schedule at home against Catawba.
• AU holds the tiebreaker with Lincoln Memorial and Mars Hill after taking two from each team. Limestone defeated the Trojans twice in mid-February, but the three-game series was scheduled as nonconference matchups.
• The Trojans are bidding for the program's first winning season since the 2003 campaign and need to win three of their remaining four regular-season games to ensure the winning mark.
• AU is seeking its first postseason appearance since the 2019 campaign.
• The Trojans lead the SAC with 16 triples and rank third with 438 hits and a .301 batting average.
• Carlos Hernandez is fifth in the SAC with 44 RBI.
• Justin Fox is tied for third in the league with 22 stolen bases on the season.
• Jackson Herring has recorded 20 strikeouts while walking just four batters.
• AU is 18-1 this season when leading after six innings.
• AU is hitting .311 with runners in scoring position.
• Carlos Hernandez is batting .397 with runners in scoring position.
• JC LeGrand is riding a 13-game hitting streak.
• Luke Poole is batting .462 with runners on base.
• Poole has reached base safely in 22 consecutive games.
• Jordan Montgomery is a perfect 4-for-4 at the plate with bases loaded.
• Hernandez leads the team with 14 multi-hit games, including four games with at least three hits.
• Gray Wells and Luke Poole have each recorded a pair of games with four hits.
• Austin Mercado is tied for third in the SAC with six wins.
• Nathan Sanders has fanned a team-high 45 batters, while issuing 16 free passes.
SCOUTING THE PIONEERS
The Pioneers were tabbed to finish ninth in the SAC Preseason Coaches' Poll, after finishing last season with an overall 17-30 record, including a 5-19 mark in the league and finishing 12th in the conference standings.
Junior outfielder Zane Keener earned Preseason First-Team All-SAC honors, after leading the Pioneers last season with a .338 batting average. The Knoxville, Tenn. also paced the Pioneers in total hits (511), doubles (10), RBI (36), runs scored (32) and hit by pitch (15). Senior outfielder Wes Reynolds garnered Preseason Third-Team All-Conference honors, after batting .301 with 34 hits including seven doubles, five home runs, 23 RBI and 25 runs scored. He went 6-of-6 in stolen bases and finished last season with 10 multiple-hit games.
Reynolds was named SAC Player of the Week in mid-February, after hitting a home run in each of four games to lead the Pioneers to a perfect 4-0 record. He batted .385 on the week and recorded 10 RBI with eight runs scored and a 1.385 slugging percentage. He drew five walks and recorded a stolen base over the four-game span.
Tusculum, which is a stellar 19-7 at home this season, snapped a five-game losing streak with a 5-1 road win over Catawba last Sunday evening.
THE SERIES vs. TUSCULUM
Tusculum leads the overall series with the Trojans, 26-12, with the first meeting occurring in 1998. The Pioneers have won three of the last four matchups and seven of the last 10, but AU won the last meeting, 6-5, on April 3, 2021 at Memorial Stadium. The two squads did not square off last season.
UP NEXT
The Trojans will wrap up the regular season by playing host to Lander on Tuesday, with first-pitch slated for 5 p.m. at Memorial Stadium.
AU will be looking for a sweep of the season series with the Bearcats after notching a come-from-behind, 9-5, Valentine's Day win in Greenwood. Senior Luke Poole led the offensive charge for the Trojans, with the Greenwood native going 4-for-5 at the plate. He ripped four singles on the afternoon and drove in four runs, including two in the decisive eighth inning. Junior Brayden Owens added three singles, an RBI and scored three times in six trips to the plate.
JC LeGrand posted a pair of singles, a walk and was hit by a pitch in five trips to the plate, while sophomore Brandon Gibbs went 2-for-3, with two singles and a pair of RBI. Junior Kye Andress was 1-for-4, while drawing a pair of walks on the afternoon.
Senior hurler Austin Mercado was the beneficiary of late-inning offense and captured his first win of the season after limiting Lander to just one single over the final three innings. The Bronx, N.Y., native did not allow a runner to reach scoring position over his three innings of work on the mound.
