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Neidigh Leads Trojans to Sweep of Golden Bulls

Neidigh Leads Trojans to Sweep of Golden Bulls
Box score

ANDERSON, S.C. - Senior Jessica Neidigh homered twice and drove in eight runs on the strength of a grand slam to help lead the Anderson softball team to a 13-0 and 6-0 sweep of Johnson C. Smith in nonconference action, Friday afternoon at Smethers Field.

Anderson improved to 13-3 with the sweep of the Golden Bulls in the first-ever meetings between the two schools, and has claimed wins in nine of its last 10 outings. Johnson C. Smith fell to 2-4 on the season.

The Trojans were coming off a two-week layoff, but their bats showed little rust, as AU banged out 27 hits on the day, while three Anderson pitchers limited JCSU to three hits on the day.

Game #1
Anderson 13, Johnson C. Smith 0 (5 innings)

Neidigh was 2-for-3 in the opener, with the grand slam and drove in six runs, while crossing the plate twice. Freshman Cailah Niles posted three singles in three trips to the plate, while fellow freshman Rachael Barefield went 2-for-3, including a two-run single in the third inning. Sophomore Courtney Czentnar added a pair of singles and scored once, with freshman Carli Hurtado reaching base all three times with a single and a pair of walks. Freshman Chelsea Jones chipped in a pair of RBI in the opener.

Jones improved to 3-1 on the season with a dominating performance in the circle, as the right-hander surrendered just one hit in four innings of work, while striking out 10, including seven of the first nine batters she faced. Sophomore Augie Pena tossed the fifth inning in relief and fanned all three batters.

The Trojans opened the scoring with a pair of runs in the bottom of the second inning, when Hurtado drew a bases-loaded walk on a 3-2 count to force in Rebecca Martin from third. Neidigh followed with a fly ball to center that was deep enough to plate Bri Cason with the second run.

Anderson sent 13 batters to the plate in the third inning and put the game out of reach with eight runs in the frame, highlighted by Neidigh's towering grand slam over the fence in right field.

The Trojans nearly batted around in the fourth inning, sending eight hitters to the plate and capitalized on five singles to post three more runs.

Game #2
Anderson 6, Johnson C. Smith 0

Neidigh added a pair of hits and a walk, including her fourth home run of the season in the first inning, and scored three times while extending her hitting streak to five games. Jones added three singles and drove in three runs, with Niles going 2-for-4 in the nightcap with a pair of singles and stretching her team-leading hitting streak to eight games.

Sophomore Lauren Rudesheim (5-2) earned the win by allowing just two hits over five innings, while striking out three and walking two Golden Bulls. Pena worked the final two innings in relief and struck out four batters.

Neidigh led off the bottom of the first inning by lifting her home run beyond the fence in right field and the Trojans never looked back. AU batted around in the second frame and boosted its lead to 5-0 on the strength of a double from Cason and four singles, including Jones' two-RBI single with two outs.

Neidigh drew a one-out walk in the fourth inning and came around to score the contest's final run when Jones ripped a single to center.

Anderson opens a four-game road swing by visiting Clark Atlanta Saturday afternoon. First-pitch at Lady Panthers Field is scheduled for 3 p.m.

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February 17, 2015 Softball Game Times Altered
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