ANDERSON, S.C. - The Anderson baseball team wraps up its South Atlantic Conference slate with a crucial three-game series at Lenoir-Rhyne this weekend, with the Trojans and Bears tied for ninth in the conference standings, 1 1/2 games out of eighth place in the battle for a seed in next week's conference tournament.

WHO: Anderson Trojans (19-27, 9-12 SAC) at Lenoir-Rhyne Bears (29-17, 9-12 SAC)
WHERE: Bears Field
WHEN: Friday, 6 p.m./Saturday, 1 p.m.

COVERAGE
Live Stats: LRBEARS.COM
Video: N/A
Audio: N/A

THE TROJANS
Anderson has dropped three of its last four decisions and has posted a 4-5 mark in its last three weekend conference series' matchups. The SAC Championship will see the top eight teams in the standings advance to the postseason event, which is slated to start Thursday, April 28. While trailing Mar Hill for the eighth slot in the standings, AU is just two games out of a five-way tie for third place.

With a single-season school record 50 free passes on the season, senior Steven Cooper leads the nation and will move into a tie for 10th in the SAC record books with his next walk. The Williamston, S.C., native has drawn 26 free passes in his last 15 games and has reached base safely in 33 of his last 36 contests and ranks seventh in NCAA D-II with a .541 on-base percentage.

Cooper continues to rank in the top-24 in the SAC in 11 offensive categories - on-base percentage (.541/1st), walks (50/1st), doubles (19/1st), slugging percentage (.698/4th), batting average (.388/5th), RBI (48/8th), sacrifice flies (4/10th), runs scored (44/15th), total bases (97/13th), home runs (8/17th) and hits (54/24th).

Freshman Carson Barrett has seen action in 30 games and leads the team with a .396 batting average, while entering the weekend on a three-game hitting streak. The Travelers Rest, S.C., native has posted nine hits in the last six games and has reached base safely in 13 straight contests. Senior LJ Newman has recorded at least one base hit in 18 of his last 20 games and boasts a .330 batting average, while leading the Trojans and ranking seventh in the SAC with 11 home runs and standing ninth with 104 total bases and 11th with 46 RBI.

Junior Xavier Peralta is hitting .326 in 26 games and has posted a base hit in nine of his last 11 contests, while sophomore Tyler Miller lifted his batting average back above .300 with a pair of hits, including a double, at Southern Wesleyan Tuesday night. The Anderson, S.C., native has reached base safely in 40 of his 44 games this season, while veteran senior Kyle Bailey has a hit in nine of his last 11 contests.

Senior closer Brock Goodling has twice as many saves (12) as any other reliever in the conference, and with his next save the right-hander will take over the top spot in the school record books for saves in a single season. Fellow reliever Mitchell Cooksey leads the pitching staff with five wins and a 2.76 ERA, while reliever Andrew Dill is 4-0 on the season.

LAST TIME OUT
The Trojans fell, 5-2, at Southern Wesleyan two night ago, with Miller collecting two of the Trojans' hits on the night, with a single and a ninth-inning double. Barrett and sophomore Zach McIlroy each went 1-for-3, while Newman added an RBI-double.

Junior Thomas Smith (3-5) took the loss after surrendering four runs on six hits in 1 2/3 innings of relief. The right-hander struck out one Warrior.

SCOUTING THE BEARS
Lenoir-Rhyne posted a 27-21 overall record, including an 11-18 mark in the SAC last season, but did not qualify for the SAC Tournament after finishing ninth in the standings. After sneaking into the Top-25 following its 10-game winning streak to open last season, Lenoir-Rhyne finished the conference schedule with just 11 victories and missed a postseason berth.
The Bears (30-17, 9-12) were a preseason pick to finish sixth in the SAC in the 2016 Preseason Coaches' Poll, two spots ahead of the Trojans.

Three Lenoir-Rhyne players earned preseason all-conference accolades: senior shortstop Ryan Perkins, senior third baseman Matthew De La Rosa, and sophomore outfielder Marcus Shoemaker.

Both Perkins and De La Rosa were named to the all-conference preseason first team. Perkins, a 2015 First-Team All-South Atlantic Conference and honorable mention All-Southeast Region selection, batted .358 with three home runs and a team-leading 43 runs batted in and nine stolen bases.

De La Rosa was named to the All-SAC Second Team last year after leading the squad in home runs (eight) to go along with a .339 batting average and 32 runs batted in.

Shoemaker was voted on to the All-South Atlantic Conference Preseason Second Team for the Bears. Shoemaker led the team in batting average (.359) last spring in addition to 27 runs batted in and a .450 slugging percentage.

The Bears snapped a four-game skid with a decisive 13-2 home win over Winston-Salem State Wednesday night and are 13-10 in the friendly confines of Bears Field.

THE SERIES vs. LENOIR-RHYNE
Anderson dropped two of the three matchups with L-R last season, but tallied an 18-0 rout in the second game of the series in Hickory.

UP NEXT
Anderson closes out its regular season by playing host to Conference Carolinas' opponent Erskine on Senior Day at Memorial Stadium, with first-pitch set for 6 p.m. The Trojans and Flying Fleet have met twice this season in Due West, S.C., with each squad claiming a victory.