Box score
ANDERSON, S.C. - Lenoir-Rhyne senior Stephen Arcieri's two-out
single in the top of the ninth inning plated Mike Mastroberti with
the go-ahead run and the Bears held on for a 6-5 win past Anderson
in the opener of a three-game South Atlantic Conference series
Friday night at Anderson Memorial Stadium.
Anderson (8-20, 2-11 SAC) had its' win streak halted at two,
while Lenoir-Rhyne improved to 8-22 overall and 4-9 in the
conference by winning its second straight and three of the last
four.
Senior third baseman Blake May continued his hot streak at the
plate, ripping two singles in four trips to the plate and driving
in three runs. The Largo, Fla. native has recorded seven hits and
driven in seven runs in the last three games. Sophomore Zach Reeves
finished the afternoon 2-for-4, including a triple and also drew a
first-inning walk. Senior catcher Brett Scarberry notched two hits
in four at-bats.
Sophomore right-hander Jacob Saxon (0-1) took the loss in
relief, giving up one run off two hits in the ninth inning.
Lenoir-Rhyne sophomore right-hander Aaron Bentley earned the win
with two innings of relief, surrendering one earned run off three
hits and senior Blake Edmonson picked up the save by tossing a
scoreless ninth.
For the second consecutive game, the Trojans jumped ahead early
with a pair of runs in the first inning. Freshman Brett Cash led
off the inning with an infield hit to the left side, while Reeves
followed with a walk. May singled to left to bring Cash across the
plate and Eric Sanderson's sacrifice fly to center was deep enough
to score Reeves from third.
Lenoir-Rhyne drew within 2-1 in the fourth, capitalizing on Mike
Gasque's lead-off triple down the right-field line and the Bears
posted four runs in the fifth with Colton Hansley recording a
one-out two-run homer and Arcieri singling home a pair of runs with
two outs, as L-R took a 5-2 lead.
Anderson countered with a solo run in the bottom of the frame,
as May brought Ryan Kirkland home with a single to left with two
outs on the board. The Trojans rallied to even the score with two
runs in the seventh, with Thomas Padro delivering a lead-off double
down the right-field line. Cash moved Padro to third with a
grounder to the right side and he scored on Reeves' first triple of
the season - a shot to the gap in right-center that found its way
to the warning track. May brought Reeves across the plate with a
sacrifice to center, knotting the score at 5-5.
May, a gold-glove winner, also shined defensively at the hot
corner. With a runner on third and one out in the top of the
eighth, he made a diving back-handed catch and tagged the bag to
double up the Lenoir-Rhyne runner who had already left for home,
preserving the tie score.
The Bears went ahead with Mastroberti's run in the ninth, and
while Reeves recorded a two-out single to left-center, the Trojans
were unable to capitalize as they dropped their seventh one-run
decision of the season.
Anderson and Lenoir-Rhyne close out the conference series with a
1 p.m. doubleheader on Saturday.