HICKORY, N.C. – Junior Carlos Hernandez and sophomore Brayden Owens each hammered home runs and combined to drive in six runs, but the Anderson baseball team opened a three-game South Atlantic Conference series with a 10-7 loss at 18th-ranked Lenoir-Rhyne, Friday night at Durham Field.

Anderson fell to 14-8 overall and 1-6 in conference action, while Lenoir-Rhyne (25-2, 6-1 SAC) has won three straight and 22 of its last 23 outings.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
Hernandez was a perfect 3-for-3 on the night and also reached base on a fourth-inning walk. The native of Maracay, Venezuela, notched a pair of singles and clubbed his fourth homer of the season – a two-run shot – in the sixth inning, while scoring a pair of runs and driving in three runs. Owens added a two-run double in the fourth and a solo home run in the sixth inning. Nick Vella was 3-for-5 at the plate, with three singles and scored each time.

Landon Henley (1-1) suffered the loss after surrendering four runs on four hits in 1.2 innings of work on the mound. He struck out one and did not walk a batter.

HOW IT HAPPENED
The Bears put up crooked numbers in both the first and third innings to push out to an early 4-0 lead, before the Trojans sent seven batters to the plate in the fourth and posted three runs, which was highlighted by Jaxon Young's run-scoring single and Owens' two-RBI double – both with two outs.

LR built its lead to 5-3 with another run in the fifth inning, with AU wresting the lead away with a three-run sixth inning after again sending seven batters to the plate. Vella led off with a single and two batters later, Hernandez belted his home run over the fence in left-center.

AU claimed a 7-5 edge when Vella notched an infield single with two outs in the top of the seventh, moved into scoring position on Justin Fox's infield single and crossed the plate when Hernandez singled up the middle. But LR countered by regaining a 9-7 advantage with a four-run seventh and wrapped up the scoring with a solo run in the bottom of the eighth.

ANDERSON STAT OF THE GAME
Carlos Hernandez recorded his third home run in five games.

NOTABLES
• Lenoir-Rhyne improved to 18-0 at home this season.
• The Trojans and Bears have met on 37 occasions, with Lenoir-Rhyne leading the all-time series, 25-12. The first-ever meeting between the two programs occurred during the 2009 campaign.
• LR has won six of the last seven matchups.
• Justin Fox, Nick Vella and Kye Andress each have nine multi-hit games.
• Nick Vella stretched his hitting streak to 11 games.
• Carlos Hernandez has reached base safely in 14 consecutive games.

UP NEXT
Anderson and Lenoir-Rhyne are slated to wrap up the weekend series with a doubleheader, Saturday afternoon. First-pitch is scheduled for 1 p.m.