ANDERSON, S.C. - The 23rd-ranked Anderson University softball team opens a brief two-game homestand by welcoming preseason South Atlantic Conference favorite Wingate to the Electric City for a league doubleheader on Saturday. First-pitch is slated for 2 p.m. at Smethers Field.

The Trojans
Anderson (23-7, 6-2 SAC) is currently tied with Wingate and Carson-Newman atop the early conference standings and climbed into the most recent National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) Division II Poll by winning eight of its last 10 contests and 14 of its last 18 decisions. The Trojans are putting their 14-game home win streak on the line this weekend, as AU has not suffered a loss at Smethers Field since suffering a 5-0 loss to USC Aiken in the NCAA Tournament in mid-May.

The Trojans most recently split a SAC twin bill at Lincoln Memorial three days ago in Harrogate, Tenn., rallying for an 8-5 win in extra innings over the Lady 'Splitters in game one, but dropped the nightcap by a 6-4 score.

Senior Jessica Neidigh homered twice in the opener to propel AU to the victory, but the Trojans stranded 18 runners on the afternoon and split their second straight league twin bill.

In the latest NCAA rankings released on Thursday, Anderson is 12th in the nation by averaging 1.23 home runs per contest and ranked 20th with nearly seven runs per game. AU is 22nd in slugging percentage (.523) and 28th nationally in on-base percentage (.414). Prior to the LMU matchup, the Trojan pitching staff was 21st in the nation with a 1.94 ERA, but that swelled to 2.16 and a No. 31 national ranking after surrendering 10 earned runs against LMU.

Freshman Cailah Niles continues to lead the league and is tied for first in the country with 13 home runs and ranks third with 43 RBI. The Phenix City, Ala., native continues to lead the Trojans and is fourth in the league with a .433 batting average and second with her .897 slugging percentage, while ranking fifth in the nation with 0.43 homers per game. Senior Jessica Neidigh enters the weekend matchup with a team-high 10-game hitting streak and has reached base in 21 straight contests while hitting .408 on the season. She is second in the league with 12 stolen bases and was thrown out attempting to swipe second for the first time this season at LMU.

Junior Molly Child is tied for fourth in the league with a team-high nine doubles on the season. The LaGrange, Ga. native is second on the team with 25 runs scored and third in slugging percentage (.531) and hits with 33. Child is fourth on the team with her .344 batting average. Freshman Chelsea Jones is hitting .341 on the season and has shown patience at the plate by leading the Trojans in walks with 17 on the year. She has driven in 24 runs this season, which is good for third on the team. Sophomore right fielder Courtney Czentnar has boosted her batting average to season-best .333 on the strength of an eight-game hitting streak and has recorded multi-hit games in five of AU's last eight contests.

Jones (8-2) and sophomore Lauren Rudesheim (8-4) lead the Trojans with eight wins apiece, with Jones ranking sixth in the SAC with a 1.97 ERA. The hard-throwing right-hander has fanned 61 batters in 60 1/3 innings, while leading the league's starting pitchers by issuing just four free passes on the year. Jones also has two complete games and four saves in 16 appearances.

Rudesheim has tossed three shutouts and seven complete games in 19 appearances, while also collecting one save on the year.

The Bulldogs
Wingate (17-11, 6-2 SAC) was a preseason pick to win the South Atlantic Conference title in a poll of the league's coaches after finishing third in last season's conference standings with a 38-20 overall record and a 14-6 mark in the SAC. The Bulldogs climbed as high as No. 11 in the NFCA Coaches Poll in mid-February, but slid out of the rankings after dropping five of their first six decisions to open the month of March.

Wingate is an even 9-9 away from home this season and has dropped two of its last three decisions, while splitting twin bills at Limestone and Lenoir-Rhyne. The loss in the second game versus the Saints snapped a five-game win streak for the Bulldogs.

Juniors Stacey Houser, Mellena Helms and Taylor Laskey earned preseason First-Team All-SAC honors, while senior shortstop Alexis Burrell was a second team selection.

Houser was a First-Team All-SAC selection following last season, while also earning All-Region honors. She posted a 26-10 record with a 1.77 ERA in the circle, posting 29 complete games and 10 shutouts on the year. She led the SAC in wins, shutouts and innings pitched, ranking second in complete games, fifth in strikeouts and sixth in ERA. Laskey was a first team All-SAC and All-Region catcher a year ago. She was third on the team with a .349 average last year, leading the team with 15 doubles, 45 RBI and a .615 on-base percentage, while raking second with 10 homers.

Helms was a Second-Team All-SAC selection, ranking second on the team with a .361 average, while leading the team with 11 homers, three triples and 51 runs scored a year ago. She posted a .434 on-base percentage and .619 slugging percentage, while finishing fourth in the SAC in hits, fifth in homers and runs scored, sixth in total bases, 11th in slugging percentage and 14th in on-base percentage. Burrell has started 162 games during her Wingate career, hitting .288 last season, with six homers, 12 doubles, a triple and 32 RBI, scoring 25 runs. Burrell earned a spot on the All-SAC Tournament team and has 21 homers during her Wingate career to go along with 95 RBI.

Helms currently leads Wingate and is 15th in the SAC with a .385 batting average to pace six Bulldogs who are batting above .300 on the season, while Morgan Hendrix is hitting .357 and is tied with AU freshman Carli Hurtado with 10 stolen bases. Burrell leads the Bulldogs with eight homers on the season and has driven in 33 runs. As a team, Wingate is third in the conference with 29 home runs.

Houser leads the Wingate pitching staff with an 11-8 record on the season and is fifth in the league with a 1.98 ERA. The right-hander is second in the conference with five shutouts and ranks third among SAC hurlers with 14 complete games.

The Series vs. Wingate
The Trojans and Bulldogs have met 20 times in a series that dates back to the 1999 season, with Wingate owning a 14-6 advantage in the overall series. AU has won six of the last nine matchups, with the Trojans eliminating Wingate from the SAC Tournament a year ago by defeating the Bulldogs, 7-3 and 5-0, in Harrogate, Tenn.

The Bulldogs won the first 11 meetings between the two programs, including nine straight between 1999 and 2005. The series then took a five-year hiatus before the Trojans joined the South Atlantic Conference for the 2011 campaign. Wingate swept the 2011 regular-season series, with Anderson returning the favor in 2012. The two teams split the 2013 season's series, with WU taking a SAC tourney victory. AU lost the first game of last season's regular-season twin bill, then defeated Wingate on three straight occasions.

In the four meetings last season, former Trojan standout Abby Child was 4-for-12, with two home runs, six RBI and three walks, while Neidigh added four hits and scored twice. Czentnar also homered against the Bulldogs.