Box Score
Box score
FOREST CITY, N.C. - Fueled by home runs by graduate student Nick
Bernardo and junior Steven Cooper, sixth-seeded Anderson University
baseball earned its first South Atlantic Conference Tournament
victory in program history with a 12-3 triumph over seventh-seeded
Brevard in the opening round of the SAC Tournament Thursday evening
at McNair Field.
With the victory, the Trojans improve to 21-28 on the season and
claim their third win over the Tornados this season. BC, which was
the first No. 7 seed in SAC Tournament history after the field
expanded to eight for the first time in league history, closed its
season with a 19-26 mark.
The Black and Gold pounded 13 hits for the contest, as Cooper
and freshman third baseman Tyler Miller recorded three hits apiece.
Cooper headlined the lineup with six of the team's nine RBI with a
three-run homer in the seventh inning and a two-run double in the
eighth inning. Miller added three singles and scored twice from the
No. 2 spot in the lineup.
The trio of second baseman Kyle Bailey, catcher LJ Newman and
right fielder Nick Bernardo added two hits piece, highlighted by
Bernardo's solo home run to begin a six-run seventh inning. The
three AU hitters scored two runs apiece, while Garrett Bernardo
added a 1-for-3 performance with a run scored and a RBI.
Junior right-hander David Thompson earned his third victory of
the season after tossing three complete innings. Thompson came in
relief after left-hander Nick Contafio exited after the first
inning and struck out three BC hitters. Senior right-hander JT
Trujillo entered the game in the fifth and completed four innings
with five strikeouts and did not allow a walk. Freshman Andrew Dill
closed the door with an inning pitched and a strikeout.
After AU scored a run in the second and in the third to take a
quick 2-0 lead, Brevard bounced back with a run in the top of the
third. With the game in favor of the Trojans at 2-1, Anderson
scored twice in the fourth when senior shortstop Brett Cash came
home on a wild pitch and Garrett Bernardo scored on a Zach McIlroy
ground out, pushing the score to 4-1.
Brevard came back with runs in the fifth and six to bring the
score to 4-3, but the Trojans broke the game open with six runs in
the seventh and two runs in the eighth to close the evening's
scoring. Cooper recorded five of his six RBI in the seventh and the
eighth, as the junior snapped a five-game hitless streak.
The Trojans advance to the traditional six-team
double-elimination bracket and will link up with top-seeded and
regular-season champion Catawba on Friday. First pitch from McNair
Field is slated for noon.