MOBILE, Ala. – The University of South Alabama softball team looks to rebound from a midweek loss as they take on Sun Belt Conference rival North Texas in a weekend series at Lovelace Stadium in Denton, Texas.

First pitch of Saturday’s doubleheader is set for 4 p.m. while Sunday’s series finale is slated to begin at noon.

The Jags, who currently hold the No. 2 spot in the conference standings, are 27-13 overall and 11-5 in league play. After going undefeated last week – including a win over No. 21 Florida State on April 12 and a pair of shutouts over Southern Miss on April 14-15 – USA was edged 9-8 by Southeastern Louisiana in Hammond, La. on April 18.

South Alabama leads the conference in team pitching with a 2.17 ERA. Jaguar ace sophomore Hannah Campbell paces the club allowing only 2.18 earned runs per contest. Campbell (16-8) has tossed six shutouts this season in 26 appearances. She also tops the squad in strikeouts having sat down 153 batters in 150.2 innings of work. Freshman Farish Beard (3-2), who holds a 1.42 ERA, has also stepped up recently striking out 34 in 24.2 innings in the circle.

Statistically, Junior Brittany Fowler leads the Jaguars in nearly every offensive category. She tops the club in batting average (.352), slugging percentage (.582), on-base percentage (.448), RBI (30), total bases (71) and is tied with freshman Blair Johnson after notching a team-best 11 doubles. Johnson, who is hitting .336 on the year, has recorded a club-leading 44 hits so far this season while Fowler has put up 43.

USA trails the Mean Green by one win in the all-time series which North Texas leads 6-5. Last season, the Jags took two of three games from NT at Jaguar Field shutting out the Mean Green 5-0 in game one before losing game two 3-5. South Alabama clinched the SBC series with a 4-2 win over North Texas in game three.

The Mean Green ranks sixth in the SBC standings and is 19-22-1 overall and 9-8-1 in conference action. Most recently, North Texas dropped a 9-4 decision to No. 6 Oklahoma in Norman, Okla. NT has protected its home field this season having only lost three games at Lovelace Stadium while tying one. All three home losses came to ranked opponents.

North Texas has a team batting average of .259 with Maddelyn Fraley leading the way hitting .361 and holding a .639 slugging percentage. Fraley has tallied a squad-best 48 hits – including 10 home runs and seven doubles – and 39 RBI this season.

The Mean Green splits time in the circle between Brittany Simmons and Ashley Kirk. Kirk is 7-9 with a team-low 2.73 ERA and Simmons is 9-10 with a 2.86 ERA. Kirk paces the pitching staff with 119 Ks in 105 innings of work.  

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).