Ravens Open 1-1 in HCAC Tournament

The fourth-seeded Anderson University baseball team opened 1-1 in the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference (HCAC) Tournament on Thursday at Kokomo Municipal Stadium in Kokomo.

Anderson battled past fifth-seeded Hanover College (16-21) with a 6-2 victory. Top-seeded Franklin College (29-12) then fought past Anderson in a 7-3 win.

ANDERSON 6, HANOVER 2

Alex Christie put Hanover College on the board in the top of the first inning with a solo home run.

Jacob Dupps knocked in Christie on a sacrifice fly in the third to give Hanover a 2-0 lead.

Tyler Smitherman smashed a homer in the bottom of the third to cut the lead in half.

In the fourth, Stephen Vickery delivered his first homer of the season to even the score at 2-2. Justin Reed contributed an RBI double in the same inning to give Anderson a 3-2 lead.

Brady Reed knocked in Jake Stank on a sacrifice fly in the fifth.

Stank belted a solo blast in the seventh. In the same inning, Brady Reed cracked an RBI single.

Stank went 2-for-3 with a homer to lead the Ravens. Smitherman and Vickery each blasted homers. Rene Casas Jr. finished 2-for-3 with a double. Justin Reed went 2-for-5 with a double. Brady Reed provided a single and two RBI's. Connor Gordon and Grahm Reedy rounded out Anderson's 11 hits with singles.

Christie went 2-for-5 with a homer for the Panthers. Charlie Burton finished 2-for-4. Sam Perkins tallied a double while Jake Danneman, Connor Farnsley and Eric Roudebush rounded out Hanover's eight hits with singles.

Kasey Henderson (3-3) picked up the complete game win. He struck out two batters, issued two walks and allowed two runs (one earned) on eight hits in nine innings.

Matthew Alter (5-5) took the loss. He fanned three batters, yielded four walks and surrendered four runs (three earned) on eight hits in four innings. Jack Jennings punched out a batter, gave up zero walks and conceded two runs on three hits in three innings. Chris Hautman retired each of the three batters he faced.

FRANKLIN 7, ANDERSON 3

Matt Earley put Franklin on the board in the bottom of the first with an RBI double. Tysen Lipscomb singled in a run during the same inning.

Gordon ripped a solo shot in the top of the third. During the bottom half of the inning, Noah Wood cracked an RBI single to give the Grizzlies a 3-1 lead.

Anderson cut the lead to 3-2 in the fourth when Vickery drove in Casas Jr. on a fielder's choice.

Franklin opened up the game with a three-run sixth. A.J. Sanders singled in run. Sean Sullivan then connected on a two-run double to give Franklin a 6-2 lead.

Lipscomb scored on a wild pitch in the seventh.

Reedy added an RBI double in the ninth.

Gordon contributed a solo blast for the Ravens. Brady Reed and Reedy each went 2-for-4 with a double. Justin Reed finished 2-for-5 while Vickery rounded out Anderson's eight hits with a single.

Sullivan went 2-for-5 with a two-run double for the Grizzlies. Colby Reed finished 2-for-2 with a double while Earley went 2-for-4 with a double. Lipscomb, Sanders, Sean Thomas and Wood each rounded out Franklin's 10 hits with singles.

Nick McClanahan (6-0) collected the win for the Grizzlies. He fanned seven batters, issued five walks and allowed two runs on six hits in eight innings. Chris Foote walked a batter and gave up one run on two hits in one inning.

Landen Southern (1-2) suffered the loss. He punched out eight batters, yielded one walk and surrendered six runs on eight hits in five and one-third innings. Logan Nickel struck out a batter, issued zero walks and conceded one run on two hits in one and two-thirds innings. Evan Doan struck out a batter, yielded a walk and allowed zero runs on zero hits in one inning.

UP NEXT

The Ravens continue the HCAC Tournament at Kokomo Municipal Stadium on Friday at 6:30 p.m. versus an opponent to be determined.