Softball Hits the Road for Nonconference Tilt at Georgia College

Posted: Feb 06, 2015

ANDERSON, S.C. - After winning its first four contests of the season, the Anderson University softball team wraps up a four-game road swing by visiting Peach Belt Conference-foe Georgia College on Saturday. First-pitch versus the Bobcats at the Peeler Complex in Milledgeville, Ga., is set for 2 p.m.

The Trojans
Anderson has opened the season with four consecutive wins, sweeping Lees-McRae on opening day last Saturday at Smethers Field then taking two wins on the road over Southern Wesleyan on Thursday.

A quartet of freshmen are leading the Trojans offensively, with catcher Cailah Niles boasting a team-best .615 batting average. She has recorded three doubles and blasted a pair of home runs, while driving in eight runs and scoring four runs in 13 at-bats. She leads the South Atlantic Conference in slugging percentage (1.308), total bases (17), RBI (8), home runs (2), doubles (3) and hits (8). Chelsea Jones is 5-for-12 on the young season, with a triple, three doubles and a pair of walks, while newcomer Rachael Barefield is also batting .417. The Opelika, Ala., native belted her first collegiate home run in the 3-0 shutout win past Lees-McRae last weekend.

Senior standout Jessica Neidigh is hitting .375 on the season, with a league-leading two home runs, four RBI and has stolen three bases. Freshman shortstop Carli Hurtado is 5-for-14 (.357) after four contests and is a perfect 5-for-5 in stolen bases.

In the circle, sophomore Augie Pena (2-0) leads the league with a sparkling 0.58 ERA and paces the SAC with 21 strikeouts in 12 innings of work. She has surrendered just four hits and one earned run in the two appearances. Jones is 1-0 on the season, with a 0.88 ERA and a save in three appearances. The right-hander has fanned 14 batters and also issued just one walk. Sophomore Lauren Rudesheim (1-0) has a win and a save in three appearances. She has struck out 10, while walking just three and has posted a 1.75 ERA in eight innings in the circle.

The Bobcats
After posting its second consecutive appearance in the NCAA Tournament a year ago, Georgia College was picked to finish third in the 2015 Peach Belt Conference preseason poll, according to a vote of the league's coaches. The Bobcats were predicted to finish behind Armstrong State and North Georgia, while finishing ahead of Columbus State after posting a 34-17 overall mark and earning an at-large bid to NCAA Southeast Regional.

The Bobcats returned 11 letterwinners from last year's squad, including a pair of Preseason All-PBC picks in second baseman Abi LeRoy and outfielder Danielle Bernstein. Back as well is the entire pitching staff from last season, as well as the top four run producers from a year ago

LeRoy hit .329 last season and led the team with 11 doubles and 43 RBI, while adding 16 stolen bases. Bernstein batted .345 a year ago and added 15 stolen bases. Marisa Boyette started the most games for the Bobcats last season, compiling a 12-6 record in 22 starts with a 2.41 ERA and 93 strikeouts. Carly Lewis batted .333 and posted 16-10 record and a team-leading 2.02 ERA in the circle.

Boyette and Taylor Campbell were named Peach Belt Conference AstroTurf Players of the Week on Thursday, after the Bobcats went 2-2 at last weekend's Bobcat Blast. Boyette appeared in three of the four games, including a pair of starts and tallied two wins and a 1.24 ERA with 13 strikeouts over 17 innings. She recorded a complete-game, 3-2, win over No. 2 Valdosta State last Sunday, while striking out four and allowing two runs on six hits.

Campbell hit .500 over the weekend with a .600 on-base percentage and led the team with an .833 slugging percentage and 10 total bases. She belted a game-winning home run in the victory over the second-ranked Blazers and ended the weekend with a home run, a double, a run scored, three RBI and three walks

The Bobcats are coming off an 8-5 loss to Valdosta State in their final game of the Bobcat Blast.

The Series vs. Georgia College
Prior to last season, Anderson and Georgia College had met on just three occasions in school history, then squared off three times in a 76-day span a year ago. The Trojans and Bobcats split a regular-season doubleheader at Smethers Field and met again in the NCAA Southeast Region Tournament in the Electric City. The regular-season twin bill saw AU claim a 7-5 win in the opener, with the Bobcats taking a 7-3 decision in the nightcap. The Trojans avenged the setback with a hard-fought, 4-3, win in the NCAA Tournament.

Anderson holds a 5-1 advantage in the all-time series with the Bobcats after defeating Georgia College three times during the 2013 season. AU swept the regular-season doubleheader in Milledgeville, Ga., then knocked off GC, 7-5, in the NCAA's Hickory Regional.

Molly Child and Rebecca Martin led the Trojans offensively in the three meetings a year ago, with Child going 5-for-9 at the plate. She blasted two home runs and a pair of doubles, while driving in three runs and scored six runs. Martin ripped a pair of doubles and a single in six at-bats against the Bobcats.

Rudesheim earned two saves in three appearances against the Bobcats last season, while posting a stellar 0.95 ERA. The right-hander tossed 7 1/3 innings, allowing two runs (one earned) off four hits and struck out six, while walking three.