MOBILE, Ala. – No. 23 University of South Alabama softball travels to Monroe, La., this weekend to take on Louisiana-Monroe in a three-game Sun Belt Conference series at ULM Softball Complex.
 
A Saturday doubleheader beginning at 4 p.m. precedes Sunday's 1 p.m. finale.
 
Links to live stats and play-by-play audio, provided free-of-charge as part of Jaguar All-Access, can be found by accessing the softball schedule page. In-game Twitter updates are provided via the program's official handle, @USAJagsSoftball.
 
South Alabama (16-5, 1-2 SBC) enters the weekend 2-0 on the road after away wins over South Carolina and Nicholls State, while Louisiana-Monroe (17-6, 3-0 SBC) is 7-0 at home. The Jaguars earned a series finale win versus No. 7 Louisiana-Lafayette at Jaguar Field last weekend after dropping the first pair of series contests. The Warhawks swept league newcomer Appalachian State last weekend in Wingate, N.C.
 
The Jaguars are hitting .303 as a team, with junior center fielder Stephanie Pilkington leading the club with a .421 batting average. The Lake City, Fla., native had her 18-game hitting streak snapped versus the Ragin' Cajuns but managed a pair of RBI in the series. Classmate and third baseman Emily Messer batted .400 versus ULL with four runs scored and enters the weekend having reached safely in nine straight and hit in eight consecutively. Messer also entered the week ninth in the NCAA in sacrifice flies with three on the year.
 
Sophomore Chloe Rathburn has recorded a hit in eight straight contests and leads the club in hits, RBI and slugging percentage.
 
Freshmen pitchers Devin Brown (8-4; 2.49 ERA) and Kalen McGill (7-0; 2.28 ERA) have combined to throw 122 of USA's 141 total innings thus far this year. Brown entered the week tied for second in the NCAA in strikeouts with 135 in 76 innings pitched, consequently third in the nation in strikeouts per seven innings (12.4).
 
Both right-handers have recorded a pair of saves, with McGill's latest coming against Louisiana-Lafayette last Sunday. Brown was credited with the win that day. USA leads the Sun Belt in strikeouts with 170 total.
 
Louisiana-Monroe won 11 of its first 13 contests this season and has since gone 6-4, including wins over Arkansas Pine Bluff, Idaho State and Wisconsin, plus the league sweep of the Mountaineers. The Warhawks swept five games at their own Mardi Gras Classic on Feb. 13-15 and defeated Delaware in a doubleheader on Feb. 20.
 
ULM is batting .321 as a team this year, having outscored its opponents, 150-80 and outhit them, 195-155. The Warhawk pitching staff owns a 3.03 ERA with 106 strikeouts and 63 earned runs in 145 2/3 innings.
 
Senior Alex Cacioppo and sophomore Rochelle Roberts lead the Warhawks in hits with 29 apiece, with the former boasting a .575 on-base percentage and the latter topping the club with 24 runs scored. Junior Faith Bohack has recorded a team-leading 20 RBI and four home runs. Roberts, Miyuki Navarette, Sidney Coy and Mackenzie Miller each own the top four stole base total in the Sun Belt, as the Warhawks lead the league in the category by 46 with 73 on the year. Roberst is 11^th in the nation with 19 stolen bags.
 
Freshman right-hander Paige Porter is 7-1 in the circle for ULM with a 3.80 ERA, while Melanie Coyne is 4-3 with a 2.18 ERA, Haylie Wilson is 3-0 (3.85 ERA) and Jessica Colliver is 3-2 (2.02 ERA). Opponents are batting .266 versus the Warhwaks this year. The ULM pitching staff has struck out 106 to 33 walks this year.
 
USA leads the all-time series with ULM, 22-5. The Jaguars are 10-2 versus the Warhawks in Monroe, 9-3 in Mobile and 3-0 at neutral sites. South Alabama has won 11 straight over Louisiana-Monroe, dating back to the 2011 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).