ANDERSON, S.C. - The No. 2 seeded Anderson University softball team will begin its quest for its third consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance when the Trojans square off against seventh-seeded Lincoln Memorial on Thursday in the opening round of the 2015 South Atlantic Conference Tournament. First-pitch versus the Lady Railsplitters at Byerly Park in Hartsville, S.C., is set for 12:30 p.m.

The winner of Thursday afternoon's matchup will advance to meet the winner of the No. 3 seeded Catawba/No. 6 seeded Lenoir-Rhyne contest on Friday morning at 10 a.m. The loser will drop into the elimination bracket of the double-elimination tournament and meet either Catawba or L-R at 10 a.m.

Thursday's contest marks Anderson's fourth consecutive appearance in the conference tournament and its third straight as the No. 2 seed. The Trojans also entered last year's tourney as the second seed and went on to sweep through the postseason event with four straight wins, while capturing their first SAC Tournament crown.

Then-senior Abby Child was named Tournament MVP after recording seven hits in 12 at-bats (.583) during the four-game span, punctuated by a walk-off two-run homer in the win past Catawba to send Anderson to the title game. She also posted two additional home runs, eight RBI, three walks and three runs during the tournament. Center fielder Molly Child earned a spot on the All-Tournament Team after going 5-for-14 (.357) during the tournament, with a pair of key doubles, and scored four runs while driving in three runs.

The Trojans
Led by four all-conference selections, Anderson (35-11, 16-6 SAC) wrapped up the regular season with six straight wins and 12 victories in its last 16 contests. The Trojans, who enter the tourney as defending champions, rank 21st nationally by averaging more than a home run per game, while ranking 24th in the country with a 2.04 ERA.

On Wednesday, freshman catcher Cailah Niles became the fourth Trojan in five seasons to earn SAC Freshman of the Year honors, while Child, senior second baseman Jessica Neidigh and freshman Chelsea Jones earned postseason All-SAC accolades.

Neidigh leads the team with a .411 batting average and paces the SAC with 51 runs scored. The second baseman also paces the SAC in hits and sacrifice flies and ranks third in the SAC in total bases after reaching base safely during a 26-game streak during the season and posting a 14-game and an 8-game hitting streak.

Niles, who has a league-leading 17 home runs on the season, is one homer shy of setting a new AU mark for homers in a single season. The Phenix City, Ala., native ranks fourth nationally in round-trippers and eighth nationally with 60 RBI, which also paces the league. Niles was named to the NFCA Division II Freshman of the Year Top-25 Watch List earlier this season and is second in the conference with 117 total bases on the year. She wrapped up the regular season as the SAC's top freshman in seven offensive categories and has committed just one error in 46 games behind the plate.

Child, who reached base safely in 27 consecutive games earlier this season, is hitting .347 on the season and posted an 11-game hitting streak and a 10-game hitting streak. She ranks eighth in the league in doubles, ninth in runs scored and walks, 12th in total bases and 13th in RBI.

Jones has seen playing time as a designated player and at first base, in addition to collecting 25 appearances in the circle. She is second in the league with a 1.98 ERA and ranks second nationally with four saves. Jones is fifth in the SAC with 111 strikeouts and seventh in strikeouts per game (7.09/gm), while issuing just 18 walks on the year. The left-handed hitter has displayed patience at the plate, as she leads the Trojans and ranks fourth in the SAC with 26 walks, while ranking seventh in triples, 11th in on-base percentage and 24th in both hits and runs scored.

Another freshman, Carli Hurtado is the fifth Trojan hitting above .300 with a .309 mark on the season and has reached base safely in four consecutive games. She is a perfect 15-of-15 in stolen bases on the base paths.

The Trojan pitching staff leads the league with its' combined 2.04 ERA, while also recording a league-best 12 shutouts. Jones and Lauren Rudesheim, the reigning SAC Pitcher of the Week, have combined for 28 wins on the season. Rudesheim closed the regular season with back-to-back no-hitters and leads the squad with 14 complete games and four shutouts in 29 appearances in the circle.

The Lady Railsplitters
Lincoln Memorial closed the regular season with an eight-game homestand that saw the Lady 'Splitters drop four of their last six decisions. LMU opened the stretch by sweeping Brevard, but was swept by Lenoir-Rhyne before taking two from Mars Hill and falling twice to Wingate in its regular-season finale.

Lincoln Memorial (22-22, 11-11 SAC) was a preseason pick to finish seventh in the South Atlantic Conference in a poll of the league's coaches after finishing fifth in last season's league standings with a 26-17 overall record and a program-best 12-8 mark in the SAC.

Headlined by the return of senior utility player Amanda Snow and junior pitcher Samantha Smith, the Lady Railsplitters returned their top pitcher and five of the top eight hitters from last season's squad. Snow hit .314 with a .508 slugging percentage, five doubles, six home runs and a team-leading 29 RBI last season. She compiled a 5-1 record in the circle and ranked third in the league with a 1.41 earned run average, with four complete games. She struck out 40 batters in 44 2/3 innings pitched. Smith is back for her junior season after tossing 177 innings and compiling a 15-10 record with a 2.89 ERA last year. She threw 17 complete games with six shutouts.

Snow was named to the Preseason All-SAC First Team following a junior campaign that saw her lead LMU with six home runs, 29 RBI and 60 total bases. She finished second on the team with a .314 batting average, a .421 on-base percentage and 18 walks. Snow was both an All-SAC Second-Team selection and a Daktronics All-Southeast Region Second-Team pick following last year.

Senior outfielder Emilee Solomon currently leads LMU at the plate with a .314 batting average, while Snow is hitting .308 on the season and leads the Lady Railsplitters in slugging percentage (.581), RBI (35) and home runs (7). Freshman Brianna Taylor paces a balanced LMU pitching staff with an 11-10 record on the season. Smith is 10-11 in the circle.

The Series vs. Lincoln Memorial
The Trojans and Lady Railsplitters have met 14 times in a series that dates back to the 2007 season, with the overall series deadlocked at seven wins apiece. AU has won five of the last seven after dropping the first doubleheader between the two programs with each as members of the South Atlantic Conference in 2011. The Trojans swept the first-ever twin bill in 2007, with LMU returning the favor during the 2008 campaign. AU and Lincoln Memorial split this year's regular-season matchups in Harrogate.

Tickets for the tournament are $20 for an all-session pass for adults and $10 for an all-session pass for students. Daily tickets are $8 per day for adults and $4 per day for students.

Thursday, April 23 (at Hartsville, S.C.)
#3 Catawba vs. #6 Lenoir-Rhyne, 10:00am
#2 Anderson vs. #7 Lincoln Memorial, 12:30pm
#1 Carson-Newman vs. #8 Coker, 3:00pm
#4 Wingate vs. #5 Newberry, 5:30pm

Friday, April 24 (at Hartsville, S.C.)
Loser GM 1 vs. Loser GM 2 (alt. site), 10:00am
Loser GM 3 vs. Loser GM 4 (alt. site), 12:30pm
Winner GM 2 vs. Winner GM 3, 10:00am
Winner GM 1 vs. Winner GM 4, 12:30pm
GM 7 loser vs. GM 5 winner, 3:00pm
GM 8 loser vs. GM 6 winner, 5:30pm

Saturday, April 25 (at Hartsville, S.C.)
GM 9 winner vs. GM 10 winner, Noon
GM 7 winner vs. GM 8 winner, 2:30pm
GM 11 winner vs. GM 12 loser, 5:00pm

Sunday, April 26 (at Hartsville, S.C.)
GM 12 winner vs. GM 13 winner, 1:00pm

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