Box Score 1 |
Box Score 2
ANDERSON, S.C. - Junior first baseman Steven Cooper provided the
fireworks to close the afternoon, as his walk-off two-run home run
proved to be the difference in the second game of the day, as
Anderson University baseball split with Brevard with a 10-2 setback
to open the doubleheader, followed by a 5-4 win to close the twin
bill, Friday afternoon at Anderson Memorial Stadium.
With the split, the Trojans move to 16-20 on the season with a
10-13 mark in South Atlantic Conference play, while the Tornados
jump to 17-21 overall with an 11-14 record in the league. The win
in the final contest snapped a six-game setback streak and mark
AU's first conference win in seven tries.
Cooper was one of four AU hitters to post hits in both games of
the twin bill, as the junior extended his hitting streak to 14
straight games while reaching base safely in 23 consecutive
contests. Both of Cooper's hits were for extra bases, as he doubled
in the opener and followed with his game-winning homer.
Leading the team in hits for the afternoon was junior catcher
and designated hitter LJ Newman with a pair of two-hit games
headlined by a RBI double in the third inning of the second game.
Rounding out the quartet was freshman third baseman Tyler Miller
and junior outfielder Garrett Bernardo with a pair of singles for
the day, respectively.
In the opener, Brevard used eight runs through the first five
innings, highlighted by a six-run fifth, to cruise to the 10-2 win.
The lone bright spot for the Trojan offense came in the eighth
inning when AU crossed two runs due to a single from Bernardo,
followed by a double by junior second baseman Kyle Bailey. Bailey
eventually scored on a Tornado error to cut into the Brevard
lead.
For the final game, Anderson found the scoreboard first in the
third inning, as Bailey and Cooper took advantage of early-inning
walks and eventually scored off a double from Newman followed by a
wild pitch. For Newman, the RBI was his 23rd of the season which
ranks fourth on the team.
Following the two runs by the Black and Gold, Brevard responded
with three runs in the top of the fourth inning, as BC second
baseman John Slade tripled to the right-center gap with the bases
loaded and earned all three RBI. The triple came off a full count
after the second baseman fouled the previous pitch off his leg and
went down for a matter of moments.
The Trojans bounced back in the bottom of the fourth and tied
the game when junior catcher Travis Smith hammered a solo home run
to the deepest part of the ballpark for his fifth homer of the
season to lead off the inning. Unable to find the run column for
the remainder of the inning, the game quickly moved into the sixth
inning with the score deadlocked at 3-3.
Brevard struck again in the sixth when Slade recorded his fourth
RBI of the day with a double in the right-center gap. With the
two-bagger, Slade drove in all four of BC's runs for the final game
of the day, while posting his fifth hit of the afternoon.
After being shutout in the bottom of the sixth, senior reliever
JT Trujillo held the Tornados without a run in the top of the
seventh, which led to the bottom of the seventh heroics. After
Miller led off the inning with a single to left field, Cooper
smashed a 1-0 pitch over the right-center wall to hand Anderson the
one-run win. For Cooper, the homer was his sixth of the season, as
he increased his RBI total on the season to a team-high 31.
After tossing 1.2 innings of relieve, Trujillo earned his third
victory of the season, as he struck out two Tornados and allowed
just one hit. On the opposite side, Brevard starter Zac Joyce
tossed six complete innings and allowed three runs and struck out
eight in the no-decision.
Anderson returns to action on Saturday when it completes the
three-game conference series with BC. First pitch from Memorial
Stadium is scheduled for 1 p.m.
Game 1 Box
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Game 2 Box
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