ANDERSON, S.C. - On the heels of back-to-back record-breaking seasons on the diamond, the Anderson University softball team will play eight contests against four teams in 2015 that reached the NCAA Division II Tournament last year.

The Trojans finished the 2014 campaign ranked 22nd in the final National Fastpitch Coaches (NFCA) Division II softball poll, while setting a school record for the third consecutive season with 43 victories and their second straight NCAA Tournament appearance.

AU also claimed the South Atlantic Conference Tournament crown and a share of the league's regular-season title a year ago, as the Trojans garnered the No. 2 seed in the NCAA Southeast Regional and served as an NCAA Southeast Region host site for the first time in school history.

10th-year head coach Tommy Hewitt's Trojans will have their work cut out for them in finding an encore for last year's record-setting performance by the veteran squad. The 48-game schedule, including 22 at home and 26 on the road, will challenge the talented but youthful team that Hewitt has assembled. In addition to the grueling 22-game South Atlantic Conference schedule, AU will square off against five schools from the Peach Belt Conference, four teams from Conference Carolinas, and two from the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association.

"In my opinion the South Atlantic Conference is the toughest in the region," said Anderson head coach Tommy Hewitt. "And that in itself is tough. We just have a really tough conference. It's going to be tough home and away. "

The Trojans, who were 26-4 in the regular season versus nonconference teams, open their 26-game nonconference slate with back-to-back opponents from Conference Carolinas. After opening the schedule with a home doubleheader versus Lees-McRae for the second consecutive season on Feb. 1, the Trojans embark on a six-game road swing that encompasses three states. The Bobcats posted a 9-37 mark a year ago and finished eighth in Conference Carolinas with a 3-11 mark, before falling to Limestone in the opening round of the conference tournament.

Four days later, AU begins the road swing just 21 miles north at Southern Wesleyan. First-year head coach Becca Staton's Warriors will be competing in their inaugural season in Conference Carolinas, as SWU begins the transition from NAIA to NCAA Division II. The Warriors posted a 19-32 overall record a year ago, including an 8-20 mark in their final season in the Southern States Athletic Association.

Anderson travels to Milledgeville, Ga. on Saturday, Feb. 7 to face Peach Belt Conference-member Georgia College. The Bobcats were an impressive 34-16 last season and will be looking for their third consecutive appearance in the NCAA Southeast Regional. Georgia College, which was formidable at home with a 22-4 record at the Peeler Complex field in 2014, opens a three-game homestand with the Trojans. The Bobcats will be led by a pair of seniors, outfielder Kristen Humphries and utility player Frankie Walls, as they look for a return to postseason play.

The Trojans wrap up the road swing in Charlotte, N.C. the following day by squaring off against Johnson C. Smith (13-25, 8-8 CIAA), which was eliminated from the CIAA Tournament last April with back-to-back losses.

AU returns to the Electric City for a pair of doubleheaders featuring in-state opponents North Greenville (Feb. 11) and Lander (Feb. 13), before heading back to the Peach State for four games. North Greenville (29-17, 11-5 CC), which was knocked out of the Conference Carolinas Tournament with consecutive losses, will be led by junior Jordan Farmer, who earned All-Tournament accolades, and Sarah Armstrong, who was named to the National Christian Collegiate Athletic Association (NCCAA) All-Region Team. Lander will be looking to bounce back from an uncharacteristic 8-42 overall record, including a 2-20 mark in the Peach Belt.

The Trojans will invade GRU Augusta's Jaguar Field on Feb. 15, looking for their third consecutive sweep of the Diamond Jags after using a pair of walk-off home runs to get past GRU at Smethers Field last February. The Jaguars posted a 22-34 record last season behind Second-Team All-Peach Belt Conference honoree Paige Deschaine. She is back for her senior campaign after ranking third in the league with 240 strikeouts and was sixth-best with her 2.15 ERA in the circle. Deschaine recorded 12 double-figure strikeout performances a year ago.

The Black and Gold wrap up the road swing two days later by visiting a Clark Atlanta team that went 20-23 last season en route to earning the second seed in the SIAC Tournament.

Anderson returns home for a brief doubleheader on Friday, Feb. 20, as the Trojans play host to Emmanuel College. The Lions are also in their first season of transitioning to NCAA D-II and the Conference Carolinas. Last season saw Emmanuel post 17 wins, which was just one victory shy of the school-record, which was set during the 1999 campaign. The Lions, who lost just three players to graduation, also earned a berth in the GNAC tournament for the first time since 2006.

Next up for the Trojans is a trip to the mountains of north Georgia, where AU will square off against Young Harris College. Led by Chandler Stooksbury, the Mountain Lions ended their 2014 season with a 20-33 overall record and an 8-12 mark in the Peach Belt Conference. Stooksbury, a 5-foot-8 catcher/third baseman from Kennesaw, Ga., was second on the team with a .319 batting average (52-of-163) and led the Mountain Lions with 10 doubles, five home runs and 44 RBI. She was also second with a .485 slugging percentage and third with a .404 on-base percentage. The All-Peach Belt Conference second-team performer had a team-leading 12 multi-RBI games in 2014.

Following a 12-day layoff, the Trojans welcome archrival Erskine, which posted a 19-23 overall record last season and was eliminated in the quarterfinal round of the Conference Carolinas tournament.

As always, the South Atlantic Conference features an abundance of wealth in the circle and 2015 will be no exception. AU opens the conference slate on the road at perennial NCAA challenger Lenoir-Rhyne on March 14. Pitchers Maryann Hoskins and Brandi Hole picked up second-team all-region accolades, while helping lead the Bears to a 40-15 record a year ago, as L-R earned its ninth consecutive berth in the NCAA Division II Playoffs in 2014. Lenoir-Rhyne also earned a share of the South Atlantic Conference Regular Season Championship with the Trojans with a 16-6 SAC record, before being eliminated by fellow SAC-member Wingate in the Dahlonegha, Ga. NCAA Regional. Hoskins was 20-9 on the year with a 1.50 earned run average, 10 shutouts and 219 strikeouts en route to being named the 2014 SAC Pitcher of The Year. Hole led the league in earned run average (1.28) and finished with a 20-6 mark and 136 strikeouts.

The Trojans host Georgia Southwestern in a nonconference twin bill a day later, as the Lady Hurricanes visit the Upstate for the fifth time in the last six seasons. GSW posted 26 wins last seasons, marking the program's second-most victories during the school's NCAA era (since 2007).

Senior Robyn Stanek will lead Mars Hill against the Trojans on March 18, as the Lions travel to Anderson for a conference doubleheader. The third baseman is a two-time All-South Atlantic Conference selection at the hot corner, helping lead the Lions to a 24-20 record last season.

AU then hits the road for a pair of SAC matchups, beginning at Newberry on March 21 and concluding with a midweek twin bill at Lincoln Memorial on March 24. The Wolves were 21-27 last year, and played well at home, winning 15 of 24 contests at the Smith Road Complex. Lincoln Memorial wrapped up the 2014 campaign with a 26-17 mark which included a program-record 12 South Atlantic Conference wins. Junior utility player Amanda Snow, an All-SAC Second-Team and two-time All-Southeast Region Second-Team honoree, batted .314 with 37 hits, five doubles, six home runs and 29 RBI, leading the Lady Railsplitters in both homers and runs batted in. Snow also slugged a team-high .508 while reaching base at a .421 clip.

The Trojans break up the stretch of 10 consecutive road contests with a home doubleheader versus Wingate on March 28. First-team all-region catcher Taylor Laskey and right-handed hurler Stacey Houser, a second-team all-region selection, helped lead the Bulldogs to a 38-20 season in 2014, marking the most wins in a season for the Bulldogs since 2006. Wingate advanced to championship Sunday in the SAC Tournament, while earning an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament for the second straight year. Laskey hit .349 last season with 10 homers and a team-best 45 RBI, while Houser went 26-10 in the circle with a 1.77 ERA in 2014, piling up 29 complete games and 10 shutouts on the year. She led the SAC in wins, shutouts and innings pitched, ranking second in complete games, fifth in strikeouts and sixth in ERA.

Anderson wraps up the month of March on the road at Tusculum, which posted an overall record of 31-24, including a 14-8 mark in the SAC, then visits Catawba on April 3. Two-time First Team All-Southeast Region selection Carley Tysinger, notched 18 wins in the circle last season, with a 1.29 ERA, as the Lady Indians went 26-21 overall and 9-13 in the league.

The Trojans wrap up the road swing and the nonconference portion of their schedule at Winston-Salem State on April 4. Infielder Katrina Bartlett, a First-Team All-CIAA and Daktronics Atlantic All-Region selection, returns for her senior season after finishing last season with a .393 batting average and 17 extra base hits, including 10 home runs to lead the CIAA. She led the Lady Rams to the 2014 CIAA Championship, the team's third conference title in four season and a third trip to the NCAA Division II Atlantic Regional Tournament. She was also named to the 2014 CIAA All-Tournament team. WSSU closed the 2014 schedule with a 28-13 record.

Anderson welcomes SAC Hall of Fame Coach Vickee Kazee-Hollifield and Carson-Newman to the Electric City on April 7. The Eagles went 34-18 a season ago behind a pair of All-Region selections, Kelli Hensley and Sara Kelley. Hensley, the SAC Player of the Year, set the South Atlantic Conference and school records for hits in a single season with 92, while batting .492. Kelley, a third baseman, set the Carson-Newman school record with 35 career home runs and was second in the league in runs batted in with 60.

The Trojans close out their road schedule on April 11 by travelling to Charlotte, N.C. to face Queens, which posted a 21-25 overall record and a 5-15 mark in its inaugural season in the SAC last year.

AU wraps up the regular season at home, playing host to Brevard (April 15) and Coker (April 18). The Tornados finished last season 22-25 overall, with an 11-11 mark in conference play after falling to Carson-Newman in the conference tournament, while the Cobras and new head coach Travis McCall visit AU on Senior Day.

The Trojans will look to defend their conference tournament title when the four-day, double-elimination event kicks off on April 23. The SAC Tournament will be hosted by Coker College.

"We are playing some different teams this season," said Anderson head coach Tommy Hewitt. "It is a pretty tough schedule. We picked up some tough teams and they are all region games. If we do well, that should help us [at the end of the year]."