ANDERSON, S.C. - For the second straight day, the senior duo of LJ Newman and Steven Cooper led the Trojans at the plate, combining for five hits and 10 RBI, but the Anderson baseball team dropped a South Atlantic Conference doubleheader, 16-14 and 9-5, to visiting Coker, Saturday afternoon at Memorial Stadium.

Anderson fell to 6-13 overall and 2-4 in the league with the losses, while Coker improved to 15-5 and 4-2 with the sweep.

Game #1
Coker 16, Anderson 14
Newman was 2-for-6 in the opener, with two runs scored and five RBI on the strength of a two-RBI single and a three-run homer in the ninth inning. Cooper added a two-run single in the final inning and scored twice. Junior Xavier Peralta was 2-for-4 with two runs scored and a pair of RBI. Sophomore Mason Covey added a pair of singles, with senior Kyle Bailey posting two RBI. Sophomores Tyler Miller and Michael Rochester each crossed the plate twice.

Senior hurler Mitchell Cooksey (1-1) absorbed the loss after surrendering two runs in the second inning. The right-hander struck out two and did not issue a walk in four innings of work.

Coker jumped ahead to stay with two runs in the top of the second inning and built its lead to 6-0 with four runs in the fifth frame. The Trojans trimmed the deficit to four in the bottom of the fifth when Peralta and Steven McKnight led off with back-to-back singles and crossed the plate on Bailey's sacrifice fly and Miller's fielder's choice.

The Cobras countered with three runs in the top of the sixth to claim a 9-2 advantage, but AU answered by sending 10 batters to the plate in the bottom of the seventh inning and posting five runs to close within 9-7 after seven full innings.

Coker responded by scoring seven times in the top of the eighth to build a seemingly comfortable 16-7 cushion, but the Trojans again battled back by posting seven runs of their own in their final at-bat. Cooper pulled a two-run single to right and Newman clubbed a three-run homer to highlight the offensive outburst. With Rochester on first base and two outs, Covey came within an eyelash of knotting the score when he lifted a high fly down the left-field line, but the shot was just foul and the Trojans were unable to complete the comeback.

Game #2
Coker 9, Anderson 5
Cooper was 2-for-3 in the extra-inning nightcap, with a two-run homer and a single, while freshman Carson Barrett was 2-for-4 with a double and a single.

Senior Brock Goodling (0-1) suffered the loss after surrendering three runs on two hits, while walking two in 2 1/3 innings of relief.

After Coker manufactured a run in the top of the first inning, Cooper's fourth home run of the season gave AU a 2-1 lead, while Rochester's single plated Barrett with the Trojans' third run of the inning.

Bailey led off the bottom of the second inning with a walk and scored the Black and Gold's fourth run on Cooper's sacrifice fly to right. Coker drew within 4-3 with a pair of runs in the third inning and took a 5-4 edge with two more runs in the fifth inning. The Trojans rallied with a solo in the bottom of the seventh inning to send the contest into extra innings when Cooper led off with an infield single and crossed the plate on Rochester's sacrifice fly to left field.

But the Cobra's bats came back to life in the top of the first extra inning, as Coker plated four runs and the Trojans were unable to match the runs in the bottom of the inning.

Anderson welcomes North Greenville to Memorial Stadium on Monday. First-pitch versus the Crusaders is set for 4 p.m.