ANDERSON, S.C. - After dropping both ends of a nonconference doubleheader to Georgia College last Saturday, the Anderson University softball team returns to the diamond looking to get back in the win column by playing host to North Greenville at Smethers Field on Wednesday.

Following the matchup against the Crusaders, Anderson welcomes Lander to the Electric City for a two-game set on Friday.

The Trojans
Anderson saw its season-opening four-game win streak halted in Milledgeville, as the Trojans were swept for the first time since falling to perennial regional power Lenoir-Rhyne last March and suffered a shutout for the first time since falling, 1-0, at Wingate last season. The Trojans were out-hit, 19-10, by Georgia College and pushed just three runs across the plate on the afternoon.
Seniors Jessica Neidigh and Rebecca Martin, along with junior Molly Child each posted a pair of hits for the day, with Neidigh collecting a triple and a double in game one.

Freshman Cailah Niles continues to lead AU offensively, as the catcher is batting .400 on the season, with three doubles and a pair of home runs. Neidigh is 8-for-21 (.381) on the young season and has also belted two homers, along with the double and triple at Georgia College. Newcomers Chelsea Jones and Carli Hurtado have combined to go 12-for-37 (.324) over the six-game span, with Jones collecting three doubles and six RBI. Hurtado has drawn three walks and has teamed with Neidigh to go 9-for-9 in stolen bases. Anderson leads the South Atlantic Conference with 12 thefts on the base paths and has yet to see a base runner thrown out.

Jones ranks 22nd in the league with her .500 on-base percentage, with Niles slugging .850 through six games to rank 15th in the SAC. Neidigh is just behind, while holding an .810 slugging percentage.

The Crusaders
North Greenville was picked to finish third in the Conference Carolinas Preseason Coaches' Poll, after posting a 29-18 overall mark a year ago and finished second in Conference Carolinas with an 11-5 record, before being knocked out of the Conference Carolinas Tournament with consecutive losses.

Fifth-year head coach Sarah Hall will need to replace Conference Carolinas Player of the Year, Rachel Glazebrook, but welcomes back seven starters, including three seniors. Look for the Crusaders to be led by junior Jordan Farmer, who earned All-Tournament accolades, and senior center fielder Sarah Armstrong, who was named to the National Christian Collegiate Athletic Association (NCCAA) All-Region Team.

The Crusaders opened the season at home with a convincing, 6-1, win over Chowan last Friday, but dropped the nightcap to the Hawks by a 6-5 count. North Greenville is looking to snap a three-game skid after being swept, 2-1 and 8-2, at home by South Atlantic Conference-foe Tusculum on Saturday.

Senior pitcher Cassi Carpenter (1-2) has a pair of home runs offensively and has made three appearances in the circle for NGU, while already tossing a pair of complete games. The right-hander has struck out 14 and walked seven batters in 15 innings of work.

The Lady Bearcats
Lander, which is slated to open the season at home against Limestone this afternoon before visiting Smethers Field on Friday, boasts eight freshmen, four sophomores, a pair of juniors and three seniors on its roster this season. Third-year head coach Tina Plew-Whitlock is expected to start six of the newcomers, with four of the second-year letterwinners expected to draw a starting nod as well.

The Lady Bearcats were a preseason pick to finish 12th in the Peach Belt Conference after finishing 8-42 last season, with a 2-20 record in the PBC. Lander's pitching staff returns senior Amanda Chastain and includes freshmen Hannah Newton and Casey Wooten. Chastain went 2-8 with a 4.60 earned run average last season.

Neidigh reached base three times in four at-bats, in the first game against the Lady Bearcats last season, as AU posted a 6-0 shutout. The second baseman recorded a pair of singles and swiped two bases in the win. Lauren Rudesheim scattered five hits over seven innings, while striking out three and not walking a batter to earn the complete-game shutout.

The nightcap saw Courtney Czentnar rip her second homer of the season over the fence down the left-field line to cap a 2-for-3 night, with Child going 1-for-3 and recording two RBI. Neidigh reached base twice and scored both times after being hit by a pitch on both occasions, as AU claimed an 11-0 win in five innings.

The Series vs. North Greenville
The Trojans and Crusaders have squared off on 24 occasions over the past 17 seasons, with Anderson holding a 14-10 advantage in the overall series. The two teams met 18 times between 1999 and 2006, with the series taking a six-year hiatus before the 2013 season's matchups at Smethers Field.

AU has won six straight past the Crusaders, including last year's 6-5 and 10-3 victories in Tigerville. Bri Cason recorded her first home run of the season a year ago with a solo shot in the top of the seventh inning that eventually sent the first game into extra innings, while Child notched a single and a walk and scored twice, including the game-winner, in four trips to the plate. The Trojans recorded three of their six hits in the extra frame to take a three-run lead, with North Greenville answering with two runs in the bottom of the eighth and had the bases loaded with two outs and the tying run at third, before Rudesheim induced a pop-out to Neidigh at second to end the game.

Cason blasted her second home run in as many games in the nightcap and finished the contest 2-for-2, while adding a walk, driving in three runs and scoring twice. The game was halted after five innings due to darkness.

The Series vs. Lander
The Trojans and Bearcats have met 31 times, with Lander holding a decisive 22-9 advantage in the overall series. The Bearcats had swept both doubleheaders in 2012 and 2013, including three one-run decisions, but Anderson snapped the four-game skid by blanking the Bearcats, 6-0 and 11-0, in Greenwood.

The two teams split the 2010 meetings in Greenwood, with Anderson sweeping the 2011 twin bill at Smethers Field. LU claimed the first 10 meetings between the two programs, including five straight during the 1998 campaign.