Box Score
Box score
ANDERSON, S.C. - The Anderson University baseball team rallied
from a seven-run deficit and outslugged Wingate, 13-12, as the
Trojans won the opener of three-game South Atlantic Conference
series, Friday night at Anderson Memorial Stadium.
Anderson improved to 12-9 overall and 8-5 in the conference with
its third straight win and fifth victory in its last six contests.
Wingate slipped to 15-7 overall and 9-7 in league action.
Senior Brett Cash led the Trojans at the plate, going 3-for-4 on
the night, with a double, triple, three RBI and four runs scored.
Sophomore Stephen McKnight drove in two runs while going 2-for-3,
while adding a walk and was hit by a pitch. Freshman Tyler Miller
added a single, double and a walk on the night.
Junior Travis Smith and drove in a pair of runs, while LJ Newman
added an RBI and two runs scored for the Trojans.
Junior outfielder Bill Krebs was 2-for-3 with a homer, three RBI
and two runs scored to lead the Wingate attack. Senior first
baseman Brad Cherry went 3-for-5 with a homer and two RBI, while
freshman Bradley Brown had a double, three RBI and scored twice.
Sophomore Shane Billings posted three hits, an RBI and also scored
twice.
Senior right-hander JT Trujillo (2-1) earned the win in relief,
tossing four full innings and surrendering two earned runs on three
hits in four innings, while striking out four. Junior Mitchell
Cooksey notched his first save of the year. Wingate junior
right-hander Tyler Brown absorbed the loss, falling to 4-3 after
allowing the winning run, while working two-thirds of an
inning.
The Bulldogs scored in each of the first three innings en route
to building a 7-0 lead entering the bottom of the third frame, when
the Trojans sent 10 batters to the plate and scored five times.
Anderson took advantage of three singles and two extra-base hits,
with Cash's one-out, two-run triple off the fence in right-center
highlighting the frame.
Miller sparked the offense with a lead-off double to left-center
and moved to third on a passed ball. Two batters later, Garrett
Bernardo drew a walk, then moved to second on a wild pitch while
Miller raced home with AU's first run. Juniors Steven Cooper and LJ
Newman followed with back-to-back singles to plate Bernardo, with
Cash following by ripping his triple off the fence in right-center.
Smith closed out the scoring with the Trojans' fourth consecutive
hit - an RBI-single to left that plated Cash.
The Trojans closed within 7-6 with a solo run in the fourth
inning, but Wingate answered with three runs in the fifth inning to
push back out to a 10-6 advantage before Anderson countered with a
pair of runs in the bottom of the frame to trim the deficit to two
runs after five innings.
Wingate plated two runs in the top of the sixth and the Trojans
plated one in the bottom of the frame to set the score at 12-9
after six innings.
But Trujillo and Cooskey combined to hold the Bulldogs scoreless
over the final three innings to set up the Trojans' four-run rally
in the eighth inning. Cooper led off the inning with a single to
center and after Newman was hit by an inside pitch, Cash ripped a
run-scoring double to the gap in left-center. After Smith's
sacrifice fly brought home Newman to pull AU within a run,
McKnight's bloop double to shallow center field scored Cash with
the tying run. Three batters later Kyle Bailey bounced into a
fielder's choice that plated McKnight with the eventual winning
run.
The Bulldogs countered by getting runners on the corners with
just one out in the top of the ninth, but Cooksey worked out of the
jam by inducing a bouncer to Cash at short for a game-ending double
play to end the threat.
The Trojans and Bulldogs are slated to wrap up the three-game set
with a doubleheader on Sunday. First-pitch at Memorial Stadium is
set for 1 p.m.