Hartsville, S.C. – In their third game of their Conference Carolinas series, the Coker Cobras were dominated by the Anderson Trojans, 14-5. The loss drops the Cobras to 12-22 overall, and 3-15 in the conference, while Anderson improves to 12-24 overall, and 6-9 in the conference.

Anderson was the first to strike with a run in the first, thanks to a lead-off triple by Derek Hipp, who later scored on a wild pitch, for a 1-0 Trojan lead. In the second and third innings, Anderson was poised to strike once more, but a pair of Coker double-plays put the Trojans on ice.

Coker took a two run lead in the bottom of the third, as they scored three runs on three hits, two RBI singles from Karl Ankersen (Mt. Pleasant, SC) and Julio Gomez (Santa Fe, NM), and two Trojan errors. Unfortunately for Coker, Anderson was able to answer fairly easily, as Clint Neville sent the first pitch of his at bat about 430 feet for a two run home run.  Four batters later, Ryan Kirkland drove home Trent Still with an RBI single, giving Anderson a 4-3 lead.

The Trojans extended their lead to three runs in the fifth, with Josh Grubbs blasting a 1-0 pitch deep over the left-center fence for the first run, and Hipp scored the second on a Tom Oschip (Concord, OH) balk. After a scoreless sixth, the Trojans tacked on five more runs in the seventh, this time it was Blair Carson helping his own cause, with an RBI triple to right, followed by an RBI single by Neville to bring home Carson. Then Andrew Davis had an RBI single and Kirkland had a base clearing two out, two run double to left, giving Anderson a commanding 11-3 lead.

The Cobras managed to regain a few runs in the bottom of the eighth, scoring two runs on an RBI triple from BK Harfst (Arvada, CO) and an RBI double from Trey Lynch (Florence, SC).

In the top of the ninth, Anderson added three insurance runs, with a Kirkland RBI double and two RBIs from Hipp, giving the Trojans a 14-5 win.

The Cobra pitchers had a rough day, allowing 14 runs on 21 total hits, with just four strike outs.

Brad Boob (Charlotte, NC) (3-6) took the loss allowing five runs on nine hits in four innings of work.

Blair Carson earned the win for Anderson, allowing three runs on six hits in seven innings of work.

Leading Coker’s offense was Ankersen going 2-for-4 with a double, an RBI and two runs scored, while Gomez was 1-for-5 with an RBI and a run scored. Scott Amann (New Athens, IL), Harfst and Nate Donovan (Matthews, NC) were 1-for-4 and Lynch was 2-for-4 with a double and an RBI.

Neville led the Trojan’s at the plate, going 2-for-5 with a home run, three RBIs and two runs scored, while Carson was 3-for-6 with a triple, an RBI and two runs scored. Kirkland finished the day 3-for-5 with two doubles and four RBIs, while Davis was 4-for-5 with a double, a RBI and two runs scored. Hipp was 2-for-5 with a triple, two RBIs and two runs scored and Walt Quattlebaum was 3-for-5.

Coker returns to the diamond on Tuesday, March 25, as they host the Braves of UNC-Pembroke at 2:00 p.m.