MARS HILL, N.C. – Junior Carlos Hernandez was 5-for-6 at the plate and reached base seven times, while first baseman Nick Vella reached base six times in the Anderson baseball team's two losses, 19-7 and 6-3, to South Atlantic Conference-foe Mars Hill, Saturday afternoon at Henderson Field.

Anderson slipped to 15-13 overall and 2-10 in league action, while Mars Hill improved to 14-16 and 8-6 on the strength of the series sweep over the weekend.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
Game #1
Mars Hill 19, Anderson 7
Hernandez was a perfect 4-for-4 at the plate in the opener, with four singles and he also reached base on an eighth-inning walk, while driving in five runs and scoring once. Vella added a double, a single and a pair of walks in six trips to the late, while crossing the plate three times. Jaxon Young reached base three times after getting hit by a pitch twice and notching an eighth-inning single. JC LeGrand posted a double, a walk and reached on an error, with James Hanvey notching his second triple of the season and drawing a fourth-inning walk.

Landon Henley (1-2), the fourth of eight Trojan hurlers, absorbed the loss after allowing five runs (three earned) on four hits in 1.1 innings of work on the mound. He struck out three and walked one.

Game #2
Mars Hill 6, Anderson 3
Hernandez was 1-for-2 in the nightcap, with a walk and his ninth double of the season. Justin Fox posted a pair of singles in four at-bats, with Vella adding his ninth double of the year in the fifth inning. LeGrand, Hanvey and Kye Andress each added singles and drove in a run.

Andrew Imperatore (1-3) suffered the setback after surrendering five runs (three earned) on seven hits over 3.2 innings. He struck out six and issued a pair of walks.

HOW IT HAPPENED
Game 1
The Trojans led, 6-1, after four complete innings, but Mars Hill overcame AU's advantage by rallying for five runs in the fifth inning and again in the sixth frame after the Trojans posted a solo run in the top of the sixth.

After building the 11-7 lead, Mars Hill added three more runs in the seventh and tacked on their third five-run inning in the eighth.

Game 2
The Lions posted crooked numbers in each of the first two innings to push out to a 4-0 lead, before the Trojans cut the MHU lead in half by sending six batters to the plate in the fourth inning and scoring twice.

Mars Hill got one of the runs back in the bottom of the fourth, with AU climbing within 5-3 when Vella laced a one-out double the opposite way down the left-field line and scored on Andress' single through the left side in the fifth. But that was as close as AU would get, as Mars Hill posted a run in the sixth and the Trojans managed just a single from Fox over the final two frames.

ANDERSON STAT OF THE DAY
Hernandez and Vella were a combined 8-for-13 (.615) on the day with three doubles, five RBI, five walks and 11 total bases. The duo posted an .846 slugging percentage and a .722 on-base percentage.

NOTABLES
• The Trojans and Lions have met on 37 occasions, with Anderson leading the all-time series, 22-15. The first-ever meeting between the two programs occurred during the 2007 campaign.
• Mars Hill has won the last four matchups, with Anderson winning five of the last 10.
• JC LeGrand and James Hanvey are each riding five-game hitting streaks.
• LeGrand has reached base safely in 10 straight games.
• Hanvey has reached base safely in seven straight games.
• Nick Vella and Justin Fox lead the team with 11 multi-hit games on the season.
• Kye Andress has recorded 10 multi-hit games.

UP NEXT
Anderson will get back on the diamond, Tuesday, when the Trojans visit Peach Belt-foe North Georgia before returning to the Electric City for a three-game homestand, beginning with Newberry on Friday.