MOBILE, Ala. – The University of South Alabama softball team will kick off its final seven-game home stretch of the regular season with a mid-week doubleheader against Mercer Wednesday beginning at 1 p.m. at Jaguar Field.

The Jaguars (29-14, 13-6 SBC) most recently took their fifth Sun Belt Conference series from North Texas winning two of three games in Denton, Texas this past weekend. After falling to the Mean Green 2-1 in game one, USA downed North Texas 3-1 in ten innings in game two and 2-0 in game three.

Sophomore lefty Hannah Campbell (17-9) has seen the most action in the circle for USA this season making 28 appearances with 25 starts and 21 complete games. Campbell, who holds a 2.05 ERA, has recorded team-leading 164 strikeouts in 163.2 innings of work while only allowing 48 earned runs. Freshman Farish Beard (3-2) has recently stepped up striking out 37 batters in 28 innings. Beard has posted a 1.25 ERA in eight appearances.

Juniors Brittany Fowler and Meghan Collins lead the Jags’ offensive charge batting .344 and .342, respectively. Fowler has tallied 45 hits this season including 11 doubles, one triple and five home runs and leads the club with a .449 on-base percentage and 30 RBI. Collins paces the team with a .558 slugging percentage after notching 41 hits with eight doubles and six home runs.

South Alabama has never lost a game to the Bears leading the all-time series 2-0. USA downed Mercer 7-2 and 2-0 in a doubleheader at Mercer in the Jags’ inaugural season.

The Bears stand at 24-24 overall and 5-11 in the Atlantic Sun Conference after losing their last nine straight games. This past weekend, Mercer lost a pair of games to Lipscomb. The Bears fell 8-2 in game one of the doubleheader before losing 5-2 in game two.

As a team, the Bears are hitting .278 with McKenzie Woody standing out offensively batting .440. Woody has put up 70 hits this year and leads the team with a .508 on-base percentage. Kassie Bailey is right behind Woody with a .309 batting average and 42 runs including seven doubles, two triples and three home runs.

Jessica Holsinger (11-4) splits time in the circle with Bailey (9-12). Holsinger holds a team-low 1.98 ERA after 21 appearances while Bailey’s ERA is 3.81 in 26 appearances. Holsinger paces the squad with 90 Ks so far this season.

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).