MOBILE, Ala. – The No. 23 University of South Alabama baseball team will travel to Atlanta this weekend for a three-game Sun Belt Conference series with Georgia State.

The series will kick off with game one at 5 p.m. (CT) Friday at GSU Baseball Complex. Game two is scheduled for a 1 p.m. (CT) first pitch on Saturday, while Sunday's series finale is set to begin at noon (CT).

Right-hander Kevin Hill (7-1) will make his 11th start of the season in the series opener. Hill leads the nation and the SBC in strikeouts (90) entering the weekend, and is just nine strikeouts shy of passing former Jaguar Jon Lieber (298) for fourth on the career strikeouts list. He also leads the Sun Belt in wins (7) and innings pitched (78.2), and ranks third in the league in ERA (2.06).

Georgia State will counter with left-hander Wayne Wages (4-3), who will make his eighth start of the year in game one. Wages has struck out 42 batters and issued 15 walks in 15 total appearances, and has recorded a 4.28 ERA in 54 2/3 innings pitched. Last weekend, the southpaw tossed a one-hit shutout over Appalachian State en route to SBC Pitcher-of-the-Week honors.

Jaguar right-hander Hunter Soleymani (4-1) will make his 10th start of the season in game two. Soleymani has recorded six quality starts this season including two straight entering the weekend. He has also tossed one complete game, and struck out 35 batters while posting a 3.63 ERA in 62 innings pitched. GSU will send right-hander Marc-Andre Habeck (1-3) to the mound for his 10th start of the year on Saturday. Habeck has recorded 37 strikeouts against 19 walks and posted a team-best 4.05 ERA in 46 2/3 innings.

USA right-hander Austin Bembnowski (5-1) will make his 10th start of the season in the series finale. Bembnowski has recorded 36 strikeouts in 45 1/3 innings along with a 3.77 ERA. He has posted four quality starts this season, including last weekend where he struck out five and allowed only one run on five hits in 6 2/3 innings against Southern. The Panthers have not announced their starter for Sunday's finale.

South Alabama leads the SBC in runs scored (281), RBI (246), walks (232), stolen bases (79) and sacrifice flies (24). The Jaguars rank third in the league in on-base percentage (.386).

The USA pitching staff ranks second in the conference in ERA (3.32), runs allowed (164), earned runs allowed (139), and is third in opposing batting average (.238) and hits allowed (331). The Jags enter the weekend tied for the league lead in fielding percentage (.977).

Cole Billingsley leads the SBC in stolen bases (24), ranks tied for third in triples (3) and tied for sixth in sacrifice bunts (8). Drew LaBounty leads the league in walks (34), ranks fourth in on-base percentage (.452) and stolen bases (11), seventh in runs scored (35) and tied for eighth in RBI (33).

Travis Swaggerty ranks second in the conference in stolen bases (13), third in on-base percentage (.455) and walks (31) and tied for fifth in runs scored (36). Jared Barnes ranks tied for seventh in home runs (6), and is eighth in slugging percentage (.517). Danny Martinez ranks fifth in the league in RBI (36). 

USA (31-11, 16-2 SBC) enters the series having won four of its last five games, including three straight after taking the final two games of last weekend's series with Southern and an 8-5 win over Auburn Tuesday. The Jaguars sit atop the SBC standings entering the weekend.

GSU (19-21, 7-11 SBC) has won three of its last four contests, including two straight following a series-finale win over Appalachian State last weekend and a midweek victory over Kennesaw State on Wednesday. The Panthers enter the weekend sixth in the SBC standings. GSU leads the SBC in slugging percentage (.425), on-base percentage (.391) and doubles (75), and rank second in batting average (.296), runs scored (262), hits (404), RBI (239), home runs (31), sacrifice flies (23) and walks (191). Jarrett Hood leads the team in batting average (.385), hits (57), doubles (17), walks (22) and on-base percentage (.462). The Panther pitching staff carries a 5.37 team ERA into the series.

USA holds a 16-3 all-time lead over Georgia State in a series that dates back to 1979. The Jaguars swept the Panthers in a three-game series last season at Stanky Field, and have won the last four meetings after also defeating GSU 14-4 in last year's SBC Tournament.

Each game of the series will be broadcast live on 99.5 FM The Jag in Mobile, and can also be accessed via the iHeartRadio app. Live stats for all Jaguar games are available at USAJaguars.com, while in-game updates are provided through the Jaguar baseball Twitter account (@SouthALBaseball).

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).