CENTRAL, S.C. - Behind a 21-hit attack and stellar pitching that scattered nine hits over 14 innings, the Anderson University softball team opened a four-game road swing by sweeping a nonconference doubleheader, 11-1 and 5-1, past Southern Wesleyan, Thursday afternoon at Varsity Field.

Anderson improved to 4-0 on the season and has won 10 of the last 11 meetings with Southern Wesleyan. The Warriors slipped to 0-2 on the young season.

Game #1
Anderson 11, Southern Wesleyan 1
Senior Jessica Neidigh ripped her first home run of the season in the third inning, while freshman Chelsea Jones was 3-for-4 in the opener. She posted a triple, a double and a single, while driving in two runs and scoring twice. Fellow freshman Cailah Niles added three hits in four at-bats and crossed the plate once. Newcomer Carli Hurtado was 2-for-3 with a walk, while driving in a pair of runs and scoring twice. Senior Bri Cason added a pair of singles and a walk in four plate appearances, with sophomore right fielder Courtney Czentnar going 2-for-4 at the plate with a pair of singles, while adding two RBI and scoring twice.

Sophomore hurler Augie Pena posted her second straight stellar outing in the circle, as the right-hander struck out a career-high 13 batters in the opener. She walked just one and scattered three hits in six innings of work on the afternoon, while not allowing a Warrior runner to reach scoring position after the first inning. Pena has now recorded 21 punch-outs in 12 innings of work over two games.

Fellow sophomore Lauren Rudesheim came on in relief and surrendered one hit, while striking out one in the seventh inning.

Niles and Jones posted a pair of back-to-back one-out singles in the top of the first inning, but Anderson was unable to capitalize by pushing any runs across the plate. The Warriors' Taylor Fox led off the bottom of the frame with a single back up the middle, moved to second on a sacrifice bunt and went to third on a single by sophomore Lizzie Fela. With the runners at first and third, Fela swiped second and was thrown out at third as Fox came home with the Warriors' lone run of the contest.

After the Trojans were retired in order in the top of the second inning, Pena settled down in the circle, as she retired eight straight hitters on strikes.

With Anderson trailing by the one-run margin, Neidigh led off the third inning by lacing her first home run of the season beyond the fence in right-center to knot the score at 1-1 with one out.

The Trojans threatened to take the lead in the fifth inning, as Cason led off the frame with a single up the middle and moved into scoring position on a sacrifice bunt by Rebecca Martin. But AU was unable to take advantage, as SWU starting pitcher Lucy Wolff retired the Trojans on back-to-back infield grounders.

With Pena setting the Warriors down in order in the bottom of the fifth, the Trojans followed by sending nine batters to the plate and erupting for four runs to take a 5-1 lead in the top of the sixth.

After the first two Southern Wesleyan batters struck out to open the home sixth inning, Fox posted a two-out single down the left-field, but Pena fanned the next Warrior batter for the third out.

Anderson batted around again in the top of the seventh inning, while adding six runs to take a commanding 11-1 advantage.

Rudesheim tossed the seventh inning in relief and allowed just a two-out infield single, as the Trojans earned their third straight win.

Game #2
Anderson 5, Southern Wesleyan 1
Freshman Rachel Barefield was 2-for-3 with a walk in the nightcap, while Neidigh blasted her second home run of the afternoon and added a double. Jones doubled and walked twice in four trips to the plate, with Niles hammering a three-run home run in the sixth inning. The Phenix City, Ala., native has hit safely in each of the Trojans' four games.

Jones collected the win in the circle for the Trojans after giving up just one earned run and scattering four hits over five innings. The right-hander struck out six and walked just one. Rudesheim earned her first save of the season by working two innings of relief, while surrendering one hit and posting two strikeouts.

Anderson collected a pair of walks in the top of the first inning and had two runners in scoring position with one out, but was unable to take advantage. The Trojans threatened again in the second inning, as Barefield led off with an infield single and Cason was hit by a pitch with one out. However, AU again came up empty-handed. SWU countered in the bottom of the inning by getting its first two runners on and loaded the bases with one out, but Jones worked out of the jam with a strikeout and by inducing a ground out to Barefield at first.

Junior Molly Child led off the Anderson third inning with a single and the Trojans loaded the bases with two outs, but were unable to push the go-ahead run across the plate. Neither team threatened in the fourth inning, while AU loaded the bases again with one out in the top of the fifth, but stranded the three runners as part of the 18 runners the Trojans left on base on the afternoon.

The Warriors took advantage of a walk, single, sacrifice bunt and a sacrifice fly to plate the first run of the contest in the bottom of the fifth, with Anderson answering with three runs in the sixth frame on Niles' one-out, three-run homer to center field.

After Rudesheim retired the Warriors in order in the bottom of the sixth, Cason drew her second walk of the afternoon and scored when Neidigh pulled a two-out homer beyond the right-field fence, boosting the AU lead to 5-1. The four-run cushion proved to be plenty for Rudesheim, who surrendered a two-out single, but induced an infield pop-up to end the game

Anderson continues the four-game road swing with a twin bill at Georgia College on Saturday. First-pitch at the Peeler Complex in Milledgeville is slated for 2 p.m.