ANDERSON, S.C. - The Anderson University softball team is scheduled to open its South Atlantic Conference slate with a road doubleheader at Lenoir-Rhyne on Sunday, with first-pitch set for 2 p.m. at Bears Field.

The Trojans
Anderson (17-5) is coming off a sweep of archrival Erskine four days ago that saw the Trojans record 18 hits, with eight for extra bases, while drawing 11 walks in the two games. Junior Molly Child, senior Jessica Neidigh and freshman Cailah Niles all homered on the afternoon, with Neidigh and Niles combining for five home runs and eight RBI.

The Trojans have won 13 of their last 16 contests and are looking to open their league schedule with a victory for the first time since splitting a twin bill with Lenoir-Rhyne to begin the 2012 conference slate. AU opened its first season in the SAC against Brevard, but has begun each of the last three campaigns against the Bears, who are a perennial regional power in the southeast.

L-R has won or shared the conference regular-season title in eight of the last 11 seasons, with Anderson snapping the Bears' streak of four consecutive SAC Tournament championships last season.

Niles leads the league and is second in the nation with 11 home runs, while sharing the nation's top spot with 38 RBI on the season. The Phenix City, Ala., native is hitting a team-best .471 and has reached base safely in 14 straight games. Neidigh boasts a .423 batting average, which places her ninth in the conference and is second with six homers through 22 contests. Along with speedy shortstop Carli Hurtado, Neidigh is a perfect 10-of-10 in stolen bases to help lift the Trojans to second place in the league standings, as AU is 25-of-27 on the base paths.

Freshman Chelsea Jones is ninth in the SAC with a .500 on-base percentage, while her .371 hitting percentage ranks 23rd. Child is batting .353 and is tied for eighth in the conference with six doubles, while carrying an eight-game hitting streak into the early-season showdown with the Bears.

Hurtado has boosted her batting average by 34 points over the last five contests and is sixth on the squad with a .305 mark, with freshman Rachael Barefield also lifting her average to .302 behind a four-game hitting streak.
Senior Bri Cason has four hits in her last 13 at-bats, with a home run, double, two walks and three RBI, while holding a .302 batting average.

Sophomore pitcher Augie Pena (7-1) is tied for sixth in the conference in wins, while ranking fourth with 74 strikeouts in nearly 60 innings of work. Classmate Lauren Rudesheim (6-3) has tossed seven complete games and has three shutouts on the season in 12 appearances, with Jones (4-1) posting a pair of saves and ranking second, just behind Lenoir-Rhyne's Brandi Hole, with a sparkling 1.22 ERA.

The Bears
Lenoir-Rhyne (18-5) was a preseason pick to finish third in the South Atlantic Conference Preseason Coaches' Poll, finishing just one point behind the Trojans, while collecting one first-place vote in the poll. The Bears received votes in the latest National Fastpitch Coaches' Association (NFCA) Division II Poll, but were unable to capture enough to crack the Top-25.

The Bears are coming off a 40-15 campaign last year, including a 16-6 mark in the South Atlantic Conference and shared SAC Regular-Season Championship with Anderson. L-R advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the ninth consecutive time last season.

Four Bears earned All-South Atlantic Conference preseason accolades, as sophomore first baseman Sydney Landreth, junior designated player Ashley Oliver and junior pitcher Maryann Hoskins collected first-team honors. Sophomore Sarah Kenley was named to the 2015 All-SAC Preseason Second Team.

Landreth was third on the team in batting average (.329) last year to go along with five home runs and 26 runs batted in while Oliver was second on the team in home runs (six) in addition to 29 RBI. Hoskins was the 2014 South Atlantic Conference Pitcher of The Year after finishing with a 20-9 record, a 1.50 earned run average, 219 strikeouts and 10 shutouts. Kenley started all 55 games a year ago and finishing with a .311 batting average, four home runs and 24 runs batted in.

Hole was named the AstroTurf South Atlantic Conference Softball Pitcher of The Week on Feb. 10, after going 3-0 in the previous week with two shutouts and 15 strikeouts. She did not allow an earned run in 19 innings of work while leading the Bears to six wins to start the 2015 season.

L-R has dropped two of its last three decisions, while splitting doubleheaders with Francis Marion and Winston-Salem State. Kenley paces the Bears' offense with a .406 batting average, while posting a team-high five home runs and 28 RBI on the year. Five additional Bears are hitting .353 or above, with Oliver ranking fifth in the league with a .804 slugging percentage.

Hole and teammate Hoskins lead the conference with nine wins apiece, while Hole owns an impressive league-leading 1.08 ERA. The left-hander has 10 complete games, including four shutouts, in 12 appearances under her belt.

The Series vs. Lenoir-Rhyne
The Trojans and Bears have met 16 times, including 10 times since Anderson joined the South Atlantic Conference for the 2011 campaign. Lenoir-Rhyne holds a decisive 14-2 advantage in the overall series that dates back to the 2004 campaign. The Bears have swept the last two regular-season series, including 6-5 in extra innings and 12-1 in a five-inning decision a year ago at Smethers Field.

Anderson avenged the regular-season setbacks two seasons ago by rallying to defeat the second-seeded Bears, 6-3, in the finals of the 2013 Hickory Regional, as AU advanced to the Southeast Super Regional in Savannah, Ga.

Neidigh was 3-for-7 against the Bears at Smethers Field last season, while Courtney Czentnar added a home run in the fifth inning of the second contest.