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ANDERSON, S.C. - Despite sealing a position into next week's
Food Lion South Atlantic Conference Tournament on Friday, Anderson
University baseball was unable get into the win column for the
series against conference foe Newberry, suffering the three-game
set with two setbacks, 6-5 and 3-1, on Saturday afternoon at
Anderson Memorial Stadium.
With the losses, the Trojans closed their league schedule with a
13-16 record and will enter the annual conference tournament as the
No. 6 seed. The Wolves helped themselves out in seeding for the
tournament as they moved to fourth place in the SAC standings with
a 17-13 league mark. Overall, Newberry improves to 29-21.
The Wolves outhit the home side for all three games this
weekend, 36-23, as they capitalized on their .340 batting average
for the weekend series. Within Anderson's 23 hits for the series,
the Trojans managed just three extra-base hits, including two
doubles coming in the opening game of the day from sophomore first
baseman Steven Cooper and senior catcher Jonathan Zalud.
Cooper closed the series with four hits, highlighted by a
3-for-5 performance in the opening contest. The first baseman was
responsible for two RBI and a run scored in the one-run loss,
snapping his longest hitless streak of the season.
Zalud joined Cooper and third baseman Garrett Bernardo as the
only Trojans with hits in both games for the day, as Zalud has
tallied a hit in six of his last seven games while hitting .517 and
slugging .655 in the span. Bernardo, who scored a run in both
games, is currently riding a seven-game hitting streak while
scoring seven runs during the stretch.
Newberry's Ryan Cranmer posted a double in all three games for
the weekend as he totaled a hit in each game after tallying a
4-for-5 performance on Friday. Right fielder JoJo Bradley paced the
Wolf offense in the first game with a perfect 4-for-4 day with two
runs scored and two RBI. In the latter game, shortstop DJ Martinez
nabbed a team-high two hits and drove in the eventual game-winning
run with a fourth inning single.
Despite the setbacks, Anderson will shift its focus to the SAC
Tournament, scheduled to begin on Wednesday in Forest City, N.C. at
McNair Field, home of the Coastal Plain League's Forest City Owls.
The sixth-seeded Trojans will square off against top-seeded and
regular season co-conference champions, Catawba, which tied Wingate
for the league championship with identical 20-7 SAC records. First
pitch against the Indians is scheduled for noon.
Before the Trojans begin their postseason, they will honor this
year's seniors with Senior Day on Monday when AU welcomes Southern
Wesleyan to Anderson Memorial Stadium. First pitch is slated for 6
p.m.