ANDERSON, S.C. - Looking to snap a setback streak, Anderson University baseball enters a stretch of four road games in three days beginning on Thursday with a nonconference matchup with in-state rival North Greenville at 4 p.m., followed by a three-game South Atlantic Conference series with Tusculum beginning on Friday at 6 p.m. and concluding on Saturday with a doubleheader at 1 p.m.

The Trojans
AU has dropped its last four games after being swept by league-leading Catawba last weekend and falling in a rare nonconference road game at Newberry on Tuesday. With the losing skid, the Trojans are an even 14-14 on the season with a 9-9 mark in conference play, as they sit a half-game behind the Wolves for fifth place in the league standings.

Leading the Trojan offense on Tuesday, and throughout the season, was junior catcher LJ Newman who currently ranks fifth in the SAC in average with a .417 mark. Newman snapped a 13-game hitting streak on Saturday against Catawba, but bounced back with a 3-for-5 performance against Newberry on Tuesday, as he knocked his 13th double on the year, which places him third in the conference. Newman's .680 slugging percentage is good enough for fifth in the conference, while his 70 total bases place him seventh.

Junior first baseman Steven Cooper has also shined at the plate, as he comes into Thursday's contest on a six-game hitting streak after posting two hits on Tuesday. Cooper's 39 hits on the season ranks second on the team behind Newman and puts him 13th in the SAC. Junior Travis Smith tied Newman on Tuesday with his fourth home run of the season, as he became the fourth Trojan this season to eclipse the 20-RBI mark.

Perhaps the hottest hitter in the AU lineup has been shortstop Brett Cash who carries the longest current hitting streak on the team at nine straight games. Cash drove in two runs at Newberry on Tuesday, while he has recorded three multi-hit games within the streak. The shortstop is second in the league in triples with four, ranking just behind teammate Nick Bernardo's league-leading mark of five.

The Anderson bullpen shined on Tuesday against the Wolves, as the pitching trio of JT Trujillo, Chris Ayers and Mitchell Cooksey combined to allow just one run and two strikeouts in the final 3.2 innings. As a staff, AU is approaching 200 strikeouts on the season, as it currently ranks sixth in the conference with 182 punch-outs this year. Junior right hander David Thompson leads the Black and Gold in strikeouts with 29.

The Crusaders
North Greenville has captured wins in three of its last five games and boasts a 16-15 overall record on the season. Earlier this season, the Crusaders fell to AU at Memorial Stadium, 13-12, to hand the Trojans their second win of the young season. Since the setback, NGU has posted 14 victories and cling to an 8-7 record in Conference Carolinas.

Senior Allen Staton continues to lead the Crusader offense, as he is hitting .385 on the season with a team-high 26 RBI and six home runs. Staton also leads Conference Carolinas in doubles with 14 and triples with three, as he has recorded a hit in all but three games this season. In AU and North Greenville's previous matchup, Staton finished 2-for-6 with a triple and a home run and scored twice.

The Crusaders use an abundance of pitchers, as 22 different hurlers have seen time on the hill. Junior right hander Hunter Dilworth leads the club in innings pitched with 35.0, as he has earned seven starts and holds a 2-3 record.

The Pioneers
With a game pending against Lander on Wednesday, Tusculum holds a 15-10 overall record with a 10-5 mark in SAC play after dropping two-of-three at Newberry last weekend. With the series loss, the Pioneers have dropped three of their last four coming off a series win over nationally-ranked Armstrong two weekends ago.

Tusculum's offense has struggled to this point of the season, as it ranks 11th in runs scored (135) and in hits (211). One of the few bright spots in the Pioneer lineup has been senior Chris Waylock's .372 batting average as he is 8-for-20 (.400) in his last four games headlined by a 3-for-4 day against Newberry on March 21.

The TC pitching staff has propelled the team all season long, as the team ranks second in the conference in fewest earned runs allowed with 101 and third in team ERA with a 4.35 mark. Right hander Ethan Carpenter was named Tennessee Sportswriters Association's College Baseball Pitcher of the Week on Tuesday after tossing four scoreless innings in TC's 3-0 win over the Wolves on Saturday. This season, Carpenter is 3-0 with a 2.45 ERA in seven appearances.