MOBILE, Ala. – The University of South Alabama softball team returns home this weekend for its third Sun Belt Conference series of the season as the Jaguars welcome Georgia State to Jaguar Field.  

Series Game Notes (PDF)

GAMES: 29-31 | VS. GEORGIA STATE
Venue: Jaguar Field | Mobile, Ala.

SERIES SCHEDULE
Game 1: Sat., March 24 | 1 p.m.
Game 2: Sat., March 24 | 3 p.m.
Game 3: Sat., March 25 | 1 p.m.

GAME INFORMATION
Television: None
Radio: None
Live Stats: www.USAJaguars.com
Live Stream: www.USAJaguars.com (JagNation TV)
Twitter: @WeAreSouth_SB

Tickets: General admission tickets can be purchase for $5, while chair back reserved seating is available for $8.  Current South Alabama students with proper student ID will be allowed admission into the contest.

South Alabama JAGUARS
NFCA: -- | USA: -- | RPI: 44
Record: 15-13, 3-2 SBC
Head Coach: Becky Clark (Mobile, '95)
Team Slash Line (AVG / OBP / SLG) - .237 / .295 / .331
Runs Per Game: 3.1
Runs Per Game Allowed: 3.2

Georgia State PANTHERS
NFCA: -- | USA: -- | RPI: 81
Record: 14-13, 1-4 SBC
Head Coach: Roger Kincaid (Georgia, '87)
Team Slash Line (AVG / SLG / OBP) - .286 / .407 / .357
Runs Per Game: 4.7
Runs Per Game Allowed: 4.1

SCOUTING THE JAGUARS    
– South Alabama (15-13, 3-2 SBC) comes into the weekend after dropping two of three at Georgia Southern during week two of Sun Belt play.  The Eagles picked up a pair of 5-1 decisions in the first two games of the series, but the Jags bounced back with an 8-0 win in the series finale.
– In the finale, USA used a three-run fourth to break open a one-run game.  South posted a season-high four extra-base hits in the contest and finished with 11 on the day.
– Kaleigh Todd was a perfect 4-for-4 – three singles and a double – at the plate with three runs scored
– Haleigh Lowe also finished the day with a pair of hits and two runs scored, while Brittani Reid tied a career high with 3 RBI and Kristian Foster drove in two runs of her own.
– Devin Brown (11-7) tossed a complete-game, three-hit shutout and finished with seven strikeouts.  The shutout for Brown was the 29th of her career at South Alabama and made her the program's all-time leader in that category.
– Along with her 11 wins, Brown leads the Jags and ranks among the Sun Belt and NCAA leaders in earned run average (1.86) and strikeouts (118).
– Brown is second in the SBC in strikeouts, strikeouts looking (35), wins and innings pitched  (109.0), while her ERA is third-lowest in the league.  She is also 19th nationally in strikeouts coming into the weekend series against the Panthers.
– Over her last seven starts, Brown has struck out 56 and walked six in her 45 innings of work in the circle.  She has had nine or more strikeouts in four of those seven outings.
– The senior right-hander is averaging 7.6 strikeouts per seven innings on the season and holds a 3.58 strikeout-to-walk ratio.
– B. Reid continues to lead the club offensively with a .316 batting average.  She is tied with Todd for top honors as she has 24 hits on the year.  Of those 24 hits, eight have gone for extra bases.  B. Reid is also tied for third on the club with Kamdyn Kvistad with 9 RBI and leads the team with 13 runs scored.
– With her four-hit performance, Todd raised her average to .300 and the senior infielder is hitting .500 in her five conference games this season.
– Foster and Lyric Cabral lead the team in RBI with 12 apiece.
– Kvistad's 13 walks lead the team, and as a club, South Alabama is second in the Sun Belt with 87 free passes.

SCOUTING THE PANTHERS    
– Georgia State (14-13, 1-4 SBC) has gotten off to a slow start in league play after being picked to finish third in the preseason Sun Belt poll.  
– Last weekend, the Panthers dropped two of three at UTA.  GSU took the opener (7-1) only to see the Mavericks pick up the final two of the series (4-0 and 3-1), and was held hitless in the series finale.
– Offensively, senior catcher Ivie Drake ranks as one of the top hitters not only on the team, but in the Sun Belt.  Entering play this weekend, Drake leads the conference in slugging percentage (.785), RBI (31), doubles (10) and total bases (62).  Drake has 17 extra-base hits on the year.
– Drake is also second in the SBC in batting (.418), on-base percentage (.510) and triples (2), while her five home runs are tied for fourth in the league and her 32 hits are tied for fifth.  She has also scored 17 runs which is tied with Georgia Southern's Hannah Farrell for eighth in the conference.
– Reagan Morgan (.337) and Brenna Skalski (.312) are both hitting over .300 entering the series.  
– As a team, Georgia State is hitting .286, which ranks fourth in the conference.  The Panthers also have 53 extra-base hits – 34 doubles, 3 triples and 16 home runs – to go along with their 127 runs scored and 114 RBI.
– In the circle, Georgia State holds a 4.26 earned run average as a staff this season, but against league competition the Panthers have lowered that stat to 2.53.
– Kinsley Jennings leads the team with seven wins and against SBC opponents, the senior righty holds a 1.82 ERA.  Jennings has a team-high seven complete games and has struck out 58 in her 88 innings in the circle.

THE SERIES VS. GEORGIA STATE    
– The meeting between South Alabama and Georgia State in the series opener will mark the 16th in the all-time series between the two clubs.
– South Alabama has taken 10 of the previous 15 meetings in the series, but the Panthers have taken the last four, including a three-game sweep in Atlanta last season.
– The Jaguars have also won five of the seven meetings in Mobile.  GSU won the last meeting in the series in Mobile with a 3-2 win in the 2016 SBC Championship.  Prior to that, USA had won four straight in the series on its home field.
– In the seven previous meetings in Mobile, the Jaguars have outscored Georgia State, 30-8, which also includes three shutouts.

INSIDE THE SERIES VS. GEORGIA STATE    
Series: 10-5 (H: 5-2 / A: 3-3 / N: 2-0)
Sun Belt Conference Games: 8-4 (H: 5-1 / A: 3-3 / N: 0-0)
Sun Belt Tournament Games: 1-1 (H: 0-1 / A: 0-0 / N: 1-0)
Extra-Inning Games: 1-0 (H: 1-0 / A: 0-0 / N: 0-0)
Run-Rule Games: 2-1 (H: 1-0 / A: 0-1 / N: 1-0)
NCAA Tournament Games: 0-0 (H: 0-0 / A: 0-0 / N: 0-0)
First Meeting: 2/9/13
Last Meeting: 3/12/17
Longest South Alabama Streak: 8 ('14-'16)
Longest Georgia State Streak: 4 ('16-'17)
Current Streak: 4 by Georgia State
Last 10 – 6-4
Last 5 – 1-4

THEY SAID IT
Head coach Becky Clark
-On where she feels her club entering week three of the league schedule: "I think we have been up and down and I am hoping that this weekend is the time we really lock into competing consistently throughout an entire series."
-On the players having a chance to rest some with no midweek game this past week: "Rest is a good thing, especially considering the road schedule we have played. It is a good thing for us to be home for a week and be able to get caught up in the classroom and not have to travel this weekend before a long road swing next week is definitely a positive."
-On the improved play of Georgia State the last few years: "Coach [Roger] Kincaid and his staff have done a great job. Georgia is a recruiting hotbed and Georgia State has benefited by bringing in a ton of athleticism and talent over the past several years. They have had a tremendous amount of depth and continue to bring in talented players."

For more information about South Alabama athletics, check back with www.usajaguars.com, and follow the Jaguars at www.twitter.com/WeAreSouth_Jags. Season tickets for all Jaguar athletic events can be purchased by calling (251) 461-1USA (1872).
    
Join the Bullpen Club, the softball specific support club of the Jaguar Athletic Fund.  Members have access to purchase parking passes and receive Jaguar Softball gear.  All donations to the Bullpen Club go directly to support the South Alabama softball program.  For more information on how you can join visit:  jaguarathleticfund.com/bullpenclub

—USA—