MOBILE, Ala. – The University of South Alabama softball team will try to rebound from a 1-3 opening weekend when it travels to Jacksonville, Ala., for the Jacksonville State Invitational held at University field Feb. 17-19.

The Jaguars are scheduled to play four games on the weekend, beginning with Friday’s 1 p.m. matchup with Southeastern Louisiana. On Saturday, the Jags will take on Southern Illinois at 12:30 p.m. followed directly by their game against the hosts, Jacksonville State, at 3 p.m. USA will close out the tournament facing SIU at 10 a.m. Sunday.

After being ranked third in the Sun Belt Conference in the preseason poll, South Alabama dropped to sixth in the standings after falling in three of its first four matches last weekend in the Mardi Gras Invitational in Mobile. The Jags haven not opened play with a loss since the 2008 season.

South Alabama posted its only win of the weekend 6-1 over Lipscomb on Feb. 12, before dropping a 3-1 decision to Memphis to close the tournament.

The Jags are led at the plate by junior Brittany Fowler (Jacksonville, Fla.) with a .364 batting average. Fowler also leads USA in slugging percentage (.909), on base percentage (.500), runs scored (4), hits (4), RBI (5) and home runs (2).
In the circle, sophomore Hannah Campbell (Satsuma, Ala.), the SBC preseason player of the year, paces South Alabama with 16 strikeouts in 18 innings pitched and three starts.

Junior transfer Jessica Dobson (DeMotte, Ind.) has recorded a team-leading 1.62 ERA with one start on the season.
USA has only lost one game to Southeastern Louisiana in the 11-game series history. In their last meeting in 2011, the Jaguars picked up a 10-2 victory over the Lady Lions.

SELU is 1-4 so far this season. On the final day of the Lion Classic in Hammond, La., the Lady Lions downed Northern Illinois, 10-2, before being edged by Southern, 8-6.

Ariell Van Hook and Trish Bliss lead the Lady Lion offense with a .500 batting average each. Van Hook has six hits in 12 at-bats with three runs, while Bliss is 4-for-8, three of which are doubles, with two runs. Van Hook is also second on the team in RBI to Meghan Gomez, who has four, with three on the year.

Southeastern Louisiana’s Kenna Terry has tossed 13.1 innings for the Lady Lions recording five strikeouts and a 5.78 ERA.

This weekend’s games versus Southern Illinois mark the first meeting of the Jags and the Salukis. SIU went 2-1 at the KSU Classic in Woodstock, Ga. to open up the 2012 season with wins over Austin Peay and Mercer while falling to Miami (OH). The Salukis pounded out 29 hits over the weekend.

Meredith Wilson led the Saluki offensive charge at the KSU Classic. She went 5-for-9 in opening weekend (.556) including three doubles, a home run, five RBI, 11 total bases, drew two walks, and held a 1.222 slugging percentage and .636 on-base percentage. Wilson started in all three games for the Salukis during the weekend. Wilson was also named to the KSU Classic All-Tournament team.

Pitcher Brittney Lang threw a complete game in a one hit, one run win over Austin Peay on Feb. 12. Lang held a no-hitter through five innings, giving up her lone hit with two outs in the sixth. She also earned the save, the first of her career, against Mercer on the same day, coming in for three innings of relief for Katie Bertelsen. Lang has compiled an ERA of 0.66 so far this season.

Jacksonville State leads the all-time series with the Jags 4-2 after topping 2-6 USA in their last meeting in 2009 at the South Alabama Invitational.

The host Gamecocks are looking to rebound after going 0-4 to open the season at the South Alabama Mardi Gras Invitational. They faced some stiff competition in two SEC opponents (Mississippi State and No. 2 Alabama), Lipscomb and Memphis.

JSU was led by pitcher/outfielder Kristin Graham who held a .462 batting average (6-for-13), a double, triple, RBI, and nine total bases. She took the 8-1 loss to the Bulldogs giving up five earned runs and allowing six walks in just one inning of work.

Jacksonville State Invitational tournament schedule information, live stats and box scores can be accessed by clicking this link.

For more information about South Alabama athletics, check back with www.usajaguars.com, and follow the Jaguars at www.twitter.com/USAJaguarSports. Season tickets for all Jaguar athletic events can be purchased by calling (251) 461-1USA (1872).