ANDERSON, S.C. - Coming off a South Atlantic Conference series win over Brevard last weekend, Anderson University baseball moves back into its nonconference schedule this week beginning on Tuesday with a home contest with Lander, followed by AU's second trip to Southern Wesleyan this season on Wednesday. Both games are scheduled for 6 p.m.

The Trojans
By claiming two-of-three from Brevard this past weekend at Memorial Stadium, Anderson improves to 17-20 for the season with an 11-13 mark in league play, as it sits in a tie for sixth in the SAC standings with Carson-Newman. With a 6-0 shutout win in the final game of the series on Saturday, the Trojans recorded their second blanking of the season, marking the first time since the 2012 season AU has posted two shutouts in a season.

A key contributor to the series win was left hander Nick Contafio who shined in the rubber match on Saturday. Contafio tossed seven complete and struck out nine Tornados and did not have a BC player advance to third base on the day. Contafio, who made his first conference start of his career, allowed just two walks and three hits.

Offensively, junior first baseman Steven Cooper provided the spark for the Trojans as his walk-off two-run home run in the second game of the series handed AU a 5-4 win. Despite the homer, Cooper snapped his 14-game hitting streak with a 0-for-4 afternoon in the final game of the series. Coming into the week, the first baseman is the only Trojan with 30 or more RBI on the year (31), and ranks second on the team in hits with 51.

Cooper trails junior catcher LJ Newman in the hits category, as he ranks ninth in the SAC with 53 for the year. Newman also ranks third in the conference in doubles with 15 and eighth in batting average with a .387 mark. In AU's five games last week, Newman posted two hits in four of them, including two in every game against Brevard last weekend.

The Bearcats
Coming off a Peach Belt Conference series win over North Georgia last weekend, Lander enters the week with a 19-20 overall record and sit in 11th place in the PBC standings with a 9-15 conference mark. Despite the below .500 record, LU has captured wins in four of its last five contests, including a 12-6 win over nationally-ranked Erskine last week.

Senior third baseman Colby Painter currently leads the team in hits with 46 for the season and is coming off a 2-for-5 afternoon in the rubber game with North Georgia last weekend. Within his two-hit performance, the senior slammed two home runs, scored three times and drove in three runs, as the multi-home run game was his first of the season.

On the mound, Lander carries a team ERA of 5.51 for the year, as junior right-hander Joe Mackey has tossed a team-high 56.2 innings with 40 strikeouts and just 16 walks.

The Warriors
After seeing a 13-game setback streak throughout the month of March, Southern Wesleyan has bounced back with wins in four of its last six, capped off by a series win over Barton this past weekend. With the series win, SWU improved to 9-27 for the campaign with a 5-16 record in Conference Carolinas.

Freshman Josh Shimp continues to lead the Warrior attacked with a team-high 47 hits, nine doubles, three triples and three home runs. The freshman posted five hits in the three-game set with Barton over the weekend, headlined by his third home run of the season in the team's 4-3 win over the Bulldogs in the opening game. In addition to the three-game hitting streak, Shimp has posted hits in nine of his last 10 games.

Defensively, freshman right hander Mike Batten earned the start against AU in the teams' last meeting, as he tossed five complete and struck out six Trojan hitters. After seeing the game deadlocked at 4-4 after the fifth inning, the SWU bullpen allowed eight earned runs and eventually lost, 12-6, on March 18.