MOBILE, Ala. – University of South Alabama softball will hit the road this weekend heading to Boca Raton, Fla. to square off with Florida Atlantic in a Sun Belt Conference series held at the FAU Softball Stadium.

Saturday’s doubleheader will kick off at 5 p.m. CDT while Sunday’s series finale is set for noon CDT.   

South Alabama is 17-8 overall and 5-1 in the Sun Belt this season. The Jaguars enter the weekend looking to take their third consecutive SBC series. After sweeping Louisiana-Monroe on March 10-11 and beating Western Kentucky in games one and two on March 17, USA dropped its first SBC game of the year to the Hilltoppers 4-5 in the series finale on March 18.

 Freshman left fielder Alyssa Linn paces the Jags at the plate with a .377 batting average, 29 hits and 24 runs. Linn leads a group of eight Jaguars batting .250 or better on the year including junior short stop Brittany Fowler, who is hitting .347. Fowler has a club-best .640 slugging percentage, .462 on-base percentage, 22 RBI, seven doubles, five home runs and 48 total bases.

USA leads the Sun Belt in team pitching with a 2.12 ERA. Sophomore southpaw Hannah Campbell has seen the most action in the circle compiling a 9-6 record with four shutouts and a save. Campbell has thrown a team-high 82 strikeouts in 89.1 innings of work. Senior Katy Neal, who also catches, has tallied a 5-2 record with 23 Ks in 38.1 innings.

The Owls lead the all-time series with the Jags 14-4. Last season, South Alabama clinched the series against FAU with a 10-1 win in game two and a 4-3 win in game three at Jaguar Field on April 14.

Most recently, Florida Atlantic was shutout by in-state rival FIU 2-0 on March 21 bringing the Owls to 10-23 overall and 0-4 in SBC action.

As a team, FAU holds an ERA of 4.04. Junior Taylor Fawbush (4-9) holds the Owls’ lowest ERA at 3.51 and has tossed 58 strikeouts in 89.2 innings of work. Freshman Paige Pender has posted a 5-3 record while throwing five complete games and recording Florida Atlantic’s only shutout of the year.

Fawbush is also an offensive threat tallying a .318 batting average, 27 hits, 16 RBI and a team-high eight doubles. Senior second baseman Heather Barnes has a club-leading .330 batting average, 19 runs and three triples.

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).