ANDERSON, S.C. - With Erick Sanderson, Steven Cooper and Josh Hickman combining for 11 hits and eight RBI on the afternoon, the Anderson baseball team swept a South Atlantic Conference doubleheader from Mars Hill, 8-2 and 7-3, Saturday afternoon at Memorial Stadium.

After rallying to win the series opener Friday night, Anderson (8-21, 4-11) claimed the conference series by posting its second three-game win streak of the season. The Trojans earned their first sweep of a league opponent since winning three straight from Brevard in mid-February of the 2011 campaign.

Mars Hill fell to 7-17 overall and 4-9 in the conference after having its three-game win streak halted on Friday.

Game #1
Anderson 8, Mars Hill 2

Senior Tony Price was 2-for-3 with a walk and a run scored, while Josh Hickman adding three singles and an RBI. Senior Erick Sanderson was 2-for-4 with two runs scored and an RBI, with freshman Chris Ayers recording two hits and a pair of RBI. Freshman Steven Cooper was 2-for-4 with two singles and an RBI. Sophomore Nathan Galliford notched his third home run of the season with a first-inning two-run homer to centerfield.

Sanderson (1-3) scattered eight hits over seven full innings, while striking out four and walking one and limiting the Lions to a pair of earned runs. Sophomore right-hander Evan Jordan tossed two-innings and surrendered just one hit in relief, while notching two strikeouts.

Mars Hill freshman Patrick Riehl suffered the loss, giving up six earned runs on six hits, while striking out two and walking three in 2 1/3 innings.

Following Ayers' one-out single in the first inning, the Trojans took an early 3-0 lead on back-to-back home runs, first from Galliford, then by Sanderson. AU added a solo run in the second and two more runs in the third inning to gain a 6-0 lead.

The Trojans posted another run in the fourth before Mars Hill scored a pair of runs in the fifth frame to pull within 7-2, but Anderson countered with one in the bottom iof the frame to set the final score.

Game #2
Anderson 7, Mars Hill 3

Cooper was 2-for-4 with an RBI in the nightcap, while Sanderson added a three-run triple in the sixth inning. Galliford was 1-for-3 with a pair of walks and scored three times.

Junior Thomas Goodman (2-2) notched the win for AU, going five innings and giving up two earned runs, while striking out three and walking two. Sophomore Landon Beck garnered his fifth save of the season by tossing the final two innings.

Mars Hill jumped ahead, 2-0, with a run in both the second and third innings, before the Trojans rallied with a pair of runs in the fourth and fifth innings to take a lead they would not relinquish, at 4-3.

The Lions posted another run in the sixth, before Sanderson drove in three for the Trojans in the bottom of the frame with a two-out triple to right-center, giving AU the 7-3 lead.

The Lions loaded the bases with one out in the seventh inning, but Beck recorded back-to-back strikeouts to preserve the win.

Anderson will get back on the diamond with a pair of midweek nonconference road contests, beginning on Tuesday at Augusta State, with first-pitch versus the Jaguars slated for 6 p.m. The Trojans travel to North Greenville on Wednesday to face the Crusaders in a 2 p.m. contest.