ANDERSON, S.C. - The Anderson University softball team will be looking to bounce back from a pair of losses when the Trojans play host to archrival Erskine in a nonconference showdown Tuesday afternoon at Smethers Field. First-pitch versus the Flying Fleet is set for 3 p.m.
With at least a split of the twin bill, Anderson would claim the coveted Beville Cup for the third straight year and fifth time in the last six years.
The Trojans
Despite getting swept by Young Harris on Sunday afternoon, Anderson
has won 11 of its last 14 decisions, while boasting a 15-5 record
on the season. With the uncooperative weather during the month of
February forcing schedule adjustments, the Trojans will be playing
their eighth game in five days when the Fleet invade the Electric
City.
Anderson swept Johnson C. Smith at home last Friday and claimed a pair of road wins over Clark Atlanta 24 hours later, before falling twice at Young Harris on Sunday.
Newcomer Cailah Niles continues to lead the Trojans at the plate offensively, as the Phenix City, Ala., native has hit safely in 10 of the last 12 games and is fourth in the South Atlantic Conference with a team-leading .469 batting average and a .906 slugging percentage. The catcher leads the league in hits (30), home runs (8), runs batted in (34) total bases (58) and ranks third with a .528 on-base percentage. Niles enters Tuesday's doubleheader on a six-game hitting streak.
Senior Jessica Neidigh is tied for 11th in the league with a .400 batting average and is tied for second in the SAC with nine stolen bases and has yet to be caught on the base paths. The leadoff hitter saw her eight-game hitting streak snapped in the nightcap at Young Harris, but still reached base twice after getting hit by a pitch twice. Freshman Chelsea Jones is third on the team with 22 hits and is hitting .367 on the season, with four doubles and a triple, and ripped her first home run in a black and gold uniform in the 4-2 setback at Young Harris on Sunday.
Junior Molly Child enters the Tuesday's twin bill on a six-game hitting streak and is hitting .344, with a pair of home runs and is tied for sixth in the conference with six doubles. Freshman Rachael Barefield and senior Bri Cason are each hitting .298 on the year, with Barefield reaching base safely in 11 straight contests.
Augie Pena and Lauren Rudesheim have each earned six win in the circle, with Jones accumulating three wins and a pair of saves. Pena absorbed her first setback of the year on Sunday, while limiting opponents to a .181 batting average on the season. The right-hander has worked nearly 53 innings and ranks fourth in the league with 65 strikeouts.
Rudesheim is fourth in the league with a stellar 1.58 ERA and has recorded 40 strikeouts in 53 innings of work. The right-hander leads the pitching staff with seven complete games, including three shutouts in 11 appearances.
The Flying Fleet
Erskine was a preseason pick to finish fourth, behind Limestone,
Mount Olive and North Greenville in the Conference Carolinas
Preseason Coaches' Poll after posting a 19-23 overall record last
season. The Fleet were eliminated in the quarterfinal round of the
2014 Conference Carolinas tournament after dropping a 1-0 decision
to top-seeded Limestone.
The Flying Fleet are 6-8 on the season and have dropped four of their last five decisions, but are coming off a 7-2 home win over Flagler two days ago in Due West. Erskine is 2-4 versus opponents from the South Atlantic Conference and owns an even 5-5 home record on the season, while going 1-3 on the road.
The Series vs. Erskine
The Trojans and Flying Fleet have met 42 times in a series that
dates back to the 1998 season, with Erskine holding a 24-18
advantage in the overall series. Entering last season, the two
teams had traded three-game win streaks since the 2009 campaign,
with Anderson currently owning a five-game win streak over the
Fleet behind season sweeps in both 2013 and 2014.
The Flying Fleet earned wins in 10 of the first 12 meetings from 1998-2001, while the Trojans have won nine of the last 13 matchups. Anderson wrapped up last year's nonconference slate by erupting for 15 runs on 21 hits, including four home runs, as the Trojans swept their archrival, 4-0 and 11-2, last April at the Erskine College Softball Complex.
Child homered twice, including a grand slam in the nightcap last season, and posted a pair of singles in the sweep. Neidigh was 2-for-4 in the opener, with a double and a single, with Martin recording the game-winning hit on her seventh home run of the season in the fifth inning of the first game.
Pena tossed a two-hit shutout for the win in the opener, while
striking out six of the first seven batters she faced and finished
with a season-high 12 punchouts on the afternoon.
