MOBILE, Ala. – No. 24 University of South Alabama softball travels to Atlanta this weekend to take on Georgia State in a three-game Sun Belt Conference series at Bob E. Heck Softball Complex.
 
Links to live stats, play-by-play audio, provided free-of-charge as part of Jaguar All-Access and ticket information can be found by accessing the Jaguar softball schedule page. In-game Twitter updates are provided via the program's official handle, @USAJagsSoftball.
 
USA (21-7, 5-3 SBC), currently fourth in SBC standings, carries a four-game league winning streak into the weekend after evening its two-game series with Louisiana-Monroe on March 15 with a game-two victory as well as sweeping Appalachian State in three games last week in Mobile.
 
Second-place GSU (23-7, 5-1 SBC) is 10-0 at home this year and has clinched both league series it has participated in after sweeping Troy in Atlanta on March 7-8 and taking two of three from fifth-place Texas State in San Marcos.
 
The Panthers are 0-5 versus ranked opponents this season with a pair of losses apiece to Auburn and Kansas and a defeat to Alabama. GSU made the No. 22 Jayhawks work for their 8-6 and 5-4 victories last weekend in Lawrence, Kan., however.
 
The Jaguars are currently batting .299 overall, fifth-best in the league, while Georgia State is runner-up to league-leader No. 8 Louisiana-Lafayette in the category, as the Panthers are hitting at a .344 clip. GSU does lead the conference in slugging percentage (.599), doubles (58) and home runs (48).
 
USA's pitching staff is second in the conference in ERA (2.42), opposing batting average (.200), strikeouts (216), fewest hits allowed (133), fewest runs allowed (78) and fewest earned runs allowed (63). Georgia State pitching owns a 4.52 ERA.
 
South Alabama sophomore Chloe Rathburn leads the Jaguars at the plate with a .407 batting average, including a team-high 35 hits and 28 RBI. The Mission Viejo, Calif., has reached safely in USA's last 15 contests.
 
Panther freshman Ivie Drake leads GSU with a .489 average and 38 RBI on 44 hits, including nine home runs. The catcher is slugging .922 with a .582 on-base percentage and has drawn 18 walks to only eight strikeouts.
 
USA senior right-hander Farish Beard is 3-0 in SBC play and has not given up an earned run in 19 league innings, while having recorded 27 strikeouts to four walks with eight hits allowed.
 
Katie Worley and Taylor Thorpe are 7-3 and 11-1 in the circle for the Panthers, respectively, with the former owning the club's best ERA, a 3.64, and the latter, a 3.86.
 
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).