GAFFNEY, S.C. – The Limestone University baseball team belted four homeruns in the first game of a doubleheader on Sunday to double up Anderson University, 8-4, but a costly error late in the nightcap allowed the Trojans to take game two and the series win with a 7-4 decision at Founders FCU Stadium.
 
GAME 1 INFORMATION
Score: Limestone 8, Anderson (S.C.) 4
Records: Limestone (5-7, 3-4), Anderson (S.C.) (6-7, 5-6)
Location: Founders FCU Stadium
 
INSIDE THE BOXSCORE
 

• Senior Brian Forbes (Rock Point, N.Y.) went 2-for-3 with a homerun and two runs scored
• Graduate Trace Whetsell (Gilbert, S.C.) homered and finished with three RBIs
• Junior Benjamin Huber (Pendleton, S.C.) blasted a massive solo homerun
• Junior Brandon Banks (Rock Hill, S.C.) also homered and chipped in a pair of RBIs
• Senior Josh Evans (Indian Land, S.C.) collected two hits, including a double, and an RBI
• Junior starter Cory Busse (Wonder Lake, Ill.) was solid, scattering four runs – three earned – on six hits over 6.1 innings of work – he struck out five to improve his record to 2-1 on the season
• Senior Devon Cantey (Half Moon Bay, Calif.) struck out two in the seventh to get the save
• Limestone recorded eight hits in game one with half of those clearing the fence
• Busse and Canty combined to allow just six hits and only surrendered one walk on the mound

 
HOW IT HAPPENED
 
Busse sat down the Trojans in order in the top of the first, but the visitors greeted him with a leadoff solo homerun in the second to make it a 1-0 game. The Saints would strike out three straight times in the second before Anderson capitalized on a two-out error in the third with an RBI double for a 2-0 cushion.
 
Limestone cut the lead in half, 2-1, in the bottom of the third as a two-out walk by Whetsell came all the way around from first to score the opening salvo on a booming double to center by Evans. The Saints then broke out the big bats over the next two frames, using a trio of long-range strikes to pull in front, 5-2.
 
With a runner on second in the fourth, Banks blasted a two-run job to left-center – a ball that the centerfielder initially had before it popped out of his glove and over the fence – and Forbes followed with a massive 419-foot blast. Huber then hit a moonshot that cleared the scoreboard in rightfield in the fifth.
 
The Saints continued to use the long ball to build on its lead in the sixth inning as Whetsell crushed a three-run homerun to centerfield, staking the Saints to an 8-2 advantage. Forbes started the frame off with a single before freshman Kyle Raynor (Fort Mill, S.C.) worked a one-out walk to set up Whetsell. The Trojans plated two runs in the seventh, but Cantey would shut the door and preserve the 8-4 decision.
 
GAME 2 INFORMATION
Score: Anderson (S.C.) 7, Limestone 4
Records: Anderson (S.C.) (7-7, 6-6), Limestone (5-8, 3-5)
Location: Founders FCU Stadium
 
INSIDE THE BOXSCORE
 

• Huber and Banks each homered for the second straight game
• Whetsell added two more hits, including a triple, and an RBI
• Evans posted a hit and an RBI while Cantey doubled
• Graduate starter Marcus Johnson (Lexington, Ky.) was handed a tough-luck loss after spreading out five runs – only one of those earned – on six hits and three walks over six innings of work
• Johnson struck out five batters
• Freshman Cale Wagoner (San Antonio, Texas) punched out a pair of batters over 2.1 innings
• After striking out eight times in game one, the Saints were fanned 12 times in the nightcap
• Three Limestone errors led directly to five unearned runs, proving to be the difference maker

 
HOW IT HAPPENED
 
The power surge continued for the Blue and Gold early in game two as Huber hit a two-out solo homerun in the bottom of the first before Banks hit a one-out dinger in the second to put Limestone in front, 2-0. Johnson was sharp on the mound early on, allowing just one runner over the first two innings of work.
 
Anderson finally got to Johnson in the top of the fourth though, capitalizing on a one-out walk followed by a dropped infield popup that went for an error. After loading the bags, the Trojans tied the game with a two-run double before jumping on top, 3-2, on an RBI groundout. Only one of those runs were earned.
 
The Saints would answer with two runs in the fifth, taking advantage of a leadoff double by Cantey. With the tying run on third and one gone, Whetsell laced an opposite-field RBI triple into the right-centerfield alley before Evans gave Limestone a 4-3 advantage with a sharp, first-pitch RBI base knock to leftfield.
 
Following a pitching change, the Blue and Gold had no response to Anderson's Christian Carpenter as he mowed down seven batters while giving up just two hits over the final 4.2 innings. Limestone still held a narrow 4-3 edge in the late stages, but a leadoff walk and a costly error in the seventh changed all of that.
 
The error allowed the runner on first to come all the way around to tie the game up before the next batter hit a go-ahead RBI single to center. Following a needed double-play ball, a solo homerun staked the Trojans to a 6-4 lead before the visitors tacked on an insurance run in the top of the eighth for the 7-4 win.
 
UP NEXT
 
After going 2-4 during its home stand, the Saints will look to rebound when they make their first ever trip to Harrogate, Tenn. to take on Lincoln Memorial University in a four-game SAC series on Saturday, March 13 and Sunday, March 14.