ANDERSON, S.C. --- Tusculum University's Brandon Trammell belted three home runs on the day as the seventh-ranked Tusculum Pioneers split a South Atlantic Conference baseball doubleheader at Anderson Saturday afternoon and Memorial Stadium.
Trammell homered twice in the opener and finished with five RBI as Tusculum won 6-2. In the Brayden Owens went 2-for-3 including his walk-off single in the ninth as the Trojans won 6-5 to snap TU's four-game winning streak.
Trammell finished the day with six RBI and tallied four hits on the afternoon as the Pioneers won the weekend series 3-1 and move its overall record to 22-7 and 18-6 in league play.
Game 1: No. 7 Tusculum 6, Anderson 2
Trammell spotted the Pioneers to an early three-run lead and Tusculum led wire-to-wire in a 6-2 win in Saturday's first game.
TU starter Keegan Ernest pitched 4.1 strong innings where he struck out five and allowed two runs on three hits to improve to 4-1 on the season. Trent Collins shut the door on the Trojans as he blanked AU for the final 2.2 innings to record his first save of 2021.
Anderson starter Joseph Cottone (1-4) fanned 11 Tusculum batters in his six innings of work as he surrendered four runs on four hits including Trammell's three-run homer in the first.
Tusculum added a run in the third inning on Fuzzy Furr's infield RBI single. The Trojans plated two runs in the fifth to cut the TU lead in half at 4-2. But a two-run homer by Trammell in the seventh gave Tusculum some insurance and secure the victory.
Game 2: Anderson 6, No. 7 Tusculum 5
Furr got the scoring started in the first inning with his RBI single up the middle. Anderson answered with a run in the bottom of the frame as Nick Vella posted a run-scoring hit.
Tusculum answered with a run in the second and one more in the fourth to take a 3-1 lead. Murphy Flood broke the tie with his RBI double to center field and Daulton Martin drove in Flood from third base with a sacrifice fly in the fourth.
Anderson tied the game at 3-3 with a run in the fourth and another in the fifth thanks to RBI singles by Ryan Brash and Chandler Castleberry. The Trojans scored two unearned runs in the sixth inning as Anderson took its first lead of the weekend at 5-3.
Tusculum trimmed the deficit in half with a solo homer by Trammell in the seventh, his third of the day and SAC-leading 10th of the season. In the top of the ninth, Bryson Ford recorded his third hit of the game with his RBI double to tie the game at 5-5.
In the bottom of the ninth, Vella reached on an infield single, moved to second on a bunt and later to third on a wild pitch. Owens stepped up and singled to right field to bring home Vella with the winning run.
Tusculum finished the game with a dozen hits as Flood went 3-for-4 and Trammell and Furry tallied two hits apiece. The Trojans tallied 10 hits including two hits each by Vella, Bray and Owens.
The Pioneers will be in action on Wednesday as they travel to Lenoir-Rhyne for a mid-week, non-conference contest. Tusculum defeated the Bears 8-2 last month in Greeneville.
