WINGATE, N.C. – The Anderson University baseball team dropped a South Atlantic Conference road game to Wingate 10-3 on Friday afternoon at Ron Christopher Field. The loss moved the Trojans to 23-24 overall and 10-21 in conference play, while the Bulldogs improved to 33-15 on the season.
Wingate struck first in the bottom of the first inning, as Jake Courville doubled to right center to plate Tanner McCammon and Ben Karpowicz and give the Bulldogs an early 2-0 advantage. The hosts added three more in the third when Karpowicz crushed a three-run home run to left field to score Bowen Powell and McCammon, pushing the Wingate lead to 5-0.
Anderson got on the board in the fourth inning without the benefit of a hit. Levi Medford (Canton, N.C.) reached on a hit-by-pitch and advanced to third on a throwing error. Riley Matthews (Waxhaw, N.C.) then grounded out to second to score Medford and cut the deficit to 5-1. The Trojans added another run in the fifth when Medford was again hit by a pitch with the bases loaded, this time scoring Bryce Helms (Kershaw, S.C.) from third to make it 5-2.
Anderson's best offensive inning came in the seventh. Helms led off with a walk, and Braeden Harrison (Spartanburg, S.C.) followed with a two-bagger to left center to plate Helms and bring the Trojans within three at 6-3. Harrison finished the game 1-for-4 with the RBI double, while Gray Wells (Chapin, S.C.) also contributed a double and reached base twice. Matthews went 1-for-4 with an RBI, and Medford was 1-for-2 with an RBI and was hit by pitches twice.
Wingate responded with a run in its half of the seventh on a solo home run by McCammon, his second of the game, and then put the game away with a three-run eighth. McCammon capped a dominant afternoon by homering again with two men on to extend the Wingate lead to 10-3. McCammon finished 3-for-4 with two home runs, a double, and four RBI on the day.
On the mound, Brendan Clarke (Barrie, Ontario, Canada) made the start and worked 5.1 innings, surrendering six runs on six hits while walking five and striking out four. Clarke fell to 4-4 on the season. Brady Williams (Kershaw, S.C.) came on in relief and worked the final 2.2 innings, allowing four runs on three hits.
The Trojans and Bulldogs return to the diamond tomorrow to round out the conference regular-season with a doubleheader starting at 1:00 p.m.
