SALISBURY, N.C. – The Anderson University baseball team opened a pivotal four-game South Atlantic Conference series against 26th-ranked Catawba by dropping both ends of a South Atlantic Conference doubleheader to the league-leading Indians, 12-1 and 5-0, Friday afternoon at Newman Park.

The Trojans, who opened the series in ninth place in the league standings, need to gain two games on eighth-place Limestone this weekend if they are to earn their third consecutive berth in next week's South Atlantic Conference Tournament. The Saints are slated to open a four-game league series at second-place Tusculum on Saturday.

Anderson slipped to 12-22 overall and 10-18 in league play, while Catawba improved to 27-7 and 22-6 with its eighth straight win and 14th victory in 15 decisions.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
Game #1
Catawba 12, Anderson 1 (5 Innings)
Senior Nick Vella hammered his team-leading fourth home run of the season in the second inning, while senior Davis Goodyear posted the Trojans' other hit of game one – a fourth-inning single.

Senior Christian Carpenter (3-2) drew the start and suffered the loss after allowing seven runs on eight hits. The right-hander issued one walk and didn't strike out a batter.

Game #2
Catawba 5, Anderson 0
Senior Cody Adams, hitting in the leadoff spot, posted all three of AU's hits, with the Saluda native notching a double and a pair of singles. Junior Dalton Shaw and sophomore Justin Fox each reached base after drawing walks.

Junior Lucas Smith (2-4) went eight innings on the mound – his longest stint of the season – and absorbed the setback after giving up five runs on seven hits. The right-hander struck out five batters and did not issue a walk.

HOW IT HAPPENED
Game 1
The Indians sent 12 batters to the plate in the opening inning and scored seven runs to put the game out of reach early.

Vella accounted for AU's lone run by belting his homer beyond the center- field fence with one out in the top of the second inning, with Catawba adding a pair of runs in the third inning and three more in the fourth.

Game 2
Catawba scored an unearned run in the bottom of the first, then neither team managed to get on the scoreboard until the Indians pushed a pair of runs across the plate in the bottom of the seventh to build a 3-0 lead.

The Indians added two more insurance runs in the bottom of the eighth to round out the scoring.

STAT OF THE DAY
Adams was 3-for-6 in the twin bill, with a .667 slugging percentage.

NOTABLES
• The Trojans were shut out for just the fourth time this season in game two.
• Justin Fox recorded his team-leading 13th stolen base of the season.
• Catawba leads the overall series, 32-10.
• Catawba went 19-3 overall in last year's coronavirus-shortened season, including an 8-1 mark in conference play.
• The Indians finished in a tie for third in the SAC standings in 2019 and won both the SAC Tournament and the NCAA Southeast Region Tournament title, while finishing with a 47-14 overall record.

UP NEXT
Anderson and Catawba are slated to wrap up the series with another doubleheader, Saturday afternoon. First-pitch is scheduled for 2 p.m.