TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – The University of South Alabama softball team will go head-to-head with Georgia Tech Friday at 3:30 p.m. at Rhoads Stadium on the campus of the University of Alabama to open play at its first-ever NCAA Regional.

The Jaguars hold a program-best 39-15 record after going 4-0 to win the Sun Belt Conference Tournament last week in Boca Raton, Fla. USA beat Louisiana-Monroe 6-0, downed FIU 9-1, topped Western Kentucky 4-2 and defeated No. 6 Louisiana-Lafayette 3-1 to take home its first SBC title ever.

South Alabama has six student-athletes hitting .250 or better this season with junior Brittany Fowler leading the way at .346. Fowler also leads the club with 55 hits including 14 doubles, a triple and seven home runs and 40 RBI. Fellow junior Meghan Collins is right behind Fowler batting .336 on the year with 49 hits including a team-best eight home runs.

Sophomore Hannah Campbell paces the Jags in the circle with a 23-10 record and a 1.83 ERA. Campbell has thrown a career-high 191 strikeouts in 210.2 innings of work. She has also tossed eight shutouts and 27 complete games for the Jaguars this season.

Georgia Tech leads the all-time series with South Alabama 1-0. The Jags dropped a 5-2 decision to the Yellow Jackets in 2009 at the Florida Lipton Invitational in Gainesville, Fla.

Georgia Tech stands at 36-21 overall. Most recently, the Yellow Jackets beat Virginia, No. 19 Florida State and Virginia Tech to become the 2012 ACC Tournament champions.

As a team, the Yellow Jackets are batting .272 on the season. Kelsi Weseman and Hope Rush lead the offense hitting .385 and .322, respectively. Weseman holds a team-high .779 slugging percentage and 13 home runs. Rush has driven in 42 runs and while compiling 83 total bases on the year.

Rush is also the workhorse in the circle after putting up a 25-12 record and a 2.01 ERA. She has sat down 142 batters in 237 innings of work. Rush has given up 90 runs – 68 earned runs – and 187 hits this season.

Tournament central for the 2012 Tuscaloosa regional can be found here.

The free internet radio broadcast can be found 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).