ANDERSON, S.C. - The Anderson University softball team will look to snap a three-way tie for second place in the South Atlantic Conference standings when the Trojans close their road schedule with a trip to second-year league member Queens University Saturday afternoon. First-pitch in Charlotte is slated for 1 p.m.

The Trojans
With six games left on the conference docket, Anderson (29-11, 10-6 SAC) is in the logjam alongside Catawba and Newberry after dropping four consecutive SAC decisions, including two each to Catawba and league-leading Carson-Newman. The Trojans saw their 16-game home win streak snapped by the Eagles last Tuesday, as AU managed just four hits in each of the two contests.

With two hits on Tuesday, senior Jessica Neidigh set a new South Atlantic Conference record with 306 hits during her stellar career. The second baseman leads the league with 61 hits on the season, 46 runs scored and paces the SAC with 108 total bases. As the Trojans' lead-off hitter, Neidigh ranks third in home runs (11) and stolen bases (14) and slugging percentage (.771), while standing fourth in the SAC in both batting average (.436) and on-base percentage (.491).

Newcomer Cailah Niles, who has been named to the NFCA Division II Freshman of the Year Top 25 Watch list, continues to lead the conference and ranks fifth nationally with 52 RBI. She also paces the SAC and is one of three freshmen that rank in the top eight in the country with 14 home runs on the season. The catcher is tied for second on the team with eight doubles, and ranks third on the squad with her .376 batting average. Earlier this season, Niles reached base in 24 consecutive contests and has 12 multi-hit games to her credit. Junior center fielder Molly Child enters Saturday's twin bill on an 11-game hitting streak and has reached base safely in 26 consecutive contests. She leads the team and ranks sixth in the conference with 10 doubles on the season, while ranking in the top three on the squad in nine additional offensive categories.

Freshman Chelsea Jones saw her six-game hitting streak snapped in the Carson-Newman doubleheader, but is hitting .328 on the season and is tied for fifth in the league with 20 walks. Fellow freshman Carli Hurtado is hitting .306 on the season and has 10 multi-hit games, while going 13-for-13 in stolen bases on the season. Sophomore Courtney Czentnar is 10-of-12 on the base paths and is hitting .302, while ranking third on the team with 28 runs scored.

Jones and sophomore Lauren Rudesheim each suffered a loss to Carson-Newman on Tuesday, but are tied for seventh in the conference with 11 wins apiece. Jones leads the SAC with four saves and ranks fifth with 97 strikeouts in 89 2/3 innings of work, while walking just 16 batters. Rudesheim has tossed three shutouts and leads the pitching staff with 11 complete games and a save in 28 appearances.

The Royals
Queens (11-28, 5-11 SAC) was a preseason pick to finish 10th in the South Atlantic Conference in a poll of the league's coaches after finishing 11th last season with a record of 5-15 within the conference and a 21-25 overall mark.

Junior Taylor Rosenbalm earned Preseason First-Team All-Conference accolades, after being named Second-Team All-SAC at the conclusion of last season. She scored 29 runs and recorded 42 hits, while hitting .378 on the season. The Statesville, N.C., native drove in 11 runs, swiped 11 bases, and had two home runs.

The Royals are 4-6 at home this season and snapped a four-game skid by splitting a doubleheader at Newberry on Wednesday.

The Series vs. Queens University
The Trojans and Royals have met 28 times on the diamond, with Queens holding a 16-12 advantage in the overall series. Saturday's matchups mark the second doubleheader with both teams as members of the South Atlantic Conference, as all previous meetings were as members of the CVAC or Conference Carolinas.

The overall series dates back to the 1999 campaign, with Queens reeling off seven straight wins during the mid-2000s. The Trojans won three of the last four meetings - in 2009-10 - before the overall series took a three-year hiatus after Anderson joined the SAC for the 2011 campaign. The Trojans blanked the Royals twice last season, 8-0 and 3-0, at Smethers Field in Queens' inaugural season in the SAC.

In what was originally billed as the final regular-season doubleheader at the historic field, which was originally built as an athletic field in the 1960s, the Trojans' two wins set a new school record for home wins with 19. Neidigh was 2-for-3 with a pair of doubles, a walk, two RBI and three runs scored in the opener. Bri Cason added a double and a single, while scoring once. Child tallied a single and an RBI-double.