ANDERSON, S.C. - After recording four victories last week, Anderson University baseball looks to continue its winning ways this week when it begins a stretch of five games in four days beginning with a pair of nonconference contests and closing the week with a three-game South Atlantic Conference series.

The Trojans open the stretch with a road trip to Southern Wesleyan on Wednesday for a 6 p.m. start, followed by a home game with North Georgia on Thursday at 2 p.m. AU closes the week with a weekend series with Catawba beginning on Friday at 6 p.m., followed with a doubleheader on Saturday against the Indians at 1 p.m.

The Trojans
After its series victory over conference foe Wingate this past weekend, Anderson enters the week with a 13-10 overall record with a 9-6 mark in league play. With the pair of triumphs over the Bulldogs, the Trojans sit in a tie for third place in the SAC standings, joining Lincoln Memorial which holds an identical 9-6 record.

Anderson continues to lead the SAC in triples with 11 on the year, while being positioned fourth in batting average with a .309 mark. Headlining the Trojan lineup has been catcher LJ Newman as he ranks 11th in the SAC in doubles with 11 and third with his .444 batting average. Newman enters the week on a 10-game hitting streak, including six games within the stretch in which he recorded multi-hit games. The junior is also slotted third in slugging percentage (.753) and fourth in on-base percentage (.505).

Junior first baseman Steven Cooper has reached base safely in AU's last 10 games, as he ranks 11th in the SAC in hits with 31 and his 21 RBI on the year puts him in 13th. Teammate Kyle Bailey is on his own streak by reaching base safely in eight straight games, including entering the week on a five-game hitting streak. Bailey headlined last weekend with two hits in each game of the doubleheader on Sunday against Wingate.

Right-hander reliever Chris Ayers highlighted the Trojan pitching staff on the weekend, as he earned his first victory on the season. Ayers tossed three complete innings and blanked the Wingate offense in the final parts of the rubber game on Sunday, as he closed his three innings with a pair of strikeouts.

The Warriors
Anderson and Southern Wesleyan will meet for the second time in seven days on Wednesday, as the Warriors come into the week on a six-game setback streak, including its 7-5 loss to AU on March 11. Overall, SWU is 5-18 on the year and was most recently swept by Conference Carolinas opponent Erskine in three games over the weekend.

Freshman shortstop Josh Shimp continues to lead the Warriors this season, as he is the lone every-day starter to currently hold a batting average over .300 with a .372 mark. Since finishing 2-for-4 with a pair of RBI in the setback to AU last week, Shimp has struggled by finishing 2-for-12 in the three-game series with the Flying Fleet.

Southern Wesleyan looks to get its pitching corrected as it heads down the stretch of the season, as it enters the week with a team ERA of 6.57. The staff has issued 99 walks and allowed 138 earned runs, which is tied for the most allowed in Conference Carolinas this season.

The Nighthawks
With a contest pending with Southern Wesleyan on Tuesday, North Georgia boasts a 14-7 overall record with a 9-3 mark in Peach Belt Conference play this season. Despite the winning record, the Nighthawks dropped two-of-three from conference rival UNC Pembroke last weekend, as they fell in their first conference series of the season.

The UNG offense is led by Steven Tomlinson, who is hitting a team-high .353 (30-for-85) with 18 RBI and a home run on the year. The outfielder is holding on to a five-game hitting streak, including five hits in the final two games of the series against UNCP. As a team, North Georgia is hitting .281 and has out-scored its opponents 136-90.

Nighthawk pitching has held opposing hitters to a .246 average and has tallied a 3.79 ERA, which places them third in the PBC. Left-hander Jacob Beauchamp leads the rotation with a 4-1 record and a 2.70 ERA as his 40 strikeouts on the season places him eighth in the conference.

The Indians
Catawba is leading the SAC standings with a 19-4 overall record and an 11-3 mark in the SAC play, as the Indians have claimed triumphs in eight straight contests. Within the winning streak, Catawba recorded sweeps over conference rivals Lenoir-Rhyne and Lincoln Memorial, as it has a contest pending with Barton on Wednesday.

The Indians carry three players hitting over .400 on the season with freshman Will Albertson leading the way with a .471 mark, while teammate TJ Wharton and Blake Houston follow with .440 and .420 averages, respectively. As a team, Catawba is second in the conference in runs scored (207), home runs (24) and RBI (178), as the team's on-base percentage of .418 paces the SAC.

On the mound, the Indians lead the SAC in opponents' batting average at .223 and ERA with a 2.76 mark. The staff is nine strikeouts away from the 200-strikeout mark of the season, as they would become the third team in the conference to eclipse the plateau. In addition to the strikeout total, the Indians are the only team in the conference to allow less than 100 runs for the year. Senior Craig Brooks, who is a two-way player, ranks second in the SAC in strikeouts with 64.