Softball | 4/21/2017 1:40:00 PM

STATESBORO, Ga. - The Georgia Southern softball team plays host to Texas State in a Sun Belt Conference series this weekend.  GS (11-7 SBC) will play Texas State (12-5 SBC) in a doubleheader on Saturday starting at 1 p.m ET and then face off again on Sunday in a single game at 12 p.m. ET. The matchup will have live stats available through the website all weekend, as well as live video streaming on GS All Access. Be sure to follow @GSAthletics_SB on twitter for updates throughout the weekend.

Texas State improved to 32-10 with a midweek come-from-behind win against No. 12 McNeese on Wednesday night. The Bobcats clinched their third Wednesday-night walk-off in as many weeks, as Texas State scored all five of its runs on three hits in its final at-bat. The team also went 1-2 in its Sun Belt Conference series against No. 17 Louisiana. The Ragin' Cajuns took games one and two before the Bobcats won game three 2-1 in eight innings. Texas State is currently 12-5 in the Sun Belt and looks to extend its two-game win streak. The Bobcats own a 6-2 all-time record over Georgia Southern.
 
Junior shortstop Ariel Ortiz leads the team in all offensive categories, batting .359, earning 24 runs, 43 RBIs, 46 hits, and 13 home runs on the season. Defense is strong for Ortiz as well, maintaining a .942 fielding percentage. She holds the Texas State career home run record (30), and now also co-owns the Bobcat single-season mark. Freshman second baseman Bailee Carter is batting .279 and has also produced an impressive 20 runs, 29 hits, and 11 RBIs on the year. In the team's doubleheader against Louisiana, Carter went 2-for-3 at the plate, earned one run and one RBI.
 
The Texas State pitching staff of Randi Rupp, Quincy Charleston, Jodi Paige Williams and Krista Jacobs have posted impressive numbers in the Sun Belt with a combined ERA of 1.88, and 1.57 overall. Rupp (20-6) has been the Bobcat's ace with 28 starts, 30 appearances, has thrown 16 complete games this season, and has an ERA of 1.23. She also recently put together 27.0 innings of scoreless softball and earned the EPSNW National Player Of The Week.

The Eagles are coming off of a midweek loss to Georgia Tech, but have won their last six Sun Belt games with sweeps over Appalachian State and Coastal Carolina. GS sits at 21-20 overall, 11-7 in conference play. Senior Emily Snider is leading the offense with a .388 batting average, 33 RBIs and eleven home runs. Freshman outfielder Mekhia Freeman is second on the team with a .328 average, and right behind her is Lydia Witkowski with a .302 average. Dixie Raley is 12-14 in the circle throughout 138.1 innings of work with a 3.19 ERA, and Kierra Camp is 7-6 with a 4.76 ERA in 95.2 innings.
 

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GS NOTES
RECORD CLIMBING
Two members of the 2017 Eagles are quickly climbing up the ranks on different career lists. 

• Senior outfielder Emily Snider has 124 runs scored for her career, ranking fourth all-time in program history. She needs two to pass Nina Iduate (2007-10) and move into third place. The record is 163 runs scored by Shanita Black (2003-06).

• Senior first baseman Morgan Robinson currently has 138 runs batted in for her career, the second-most all-time at GS. The record is 143 by Robyne Siliga (2005, 2007-09). Her 25 home runs are the seventh most in school history, trailing teammate Emily Snider by one.

POWER SURGE
After hitting eight home runs combined in her first two seasons, Emily Snider had a breakout season as a junior hitting seven home runs in 57 games. Through 41 games this season, she has already broken that mark with 11 home runs and counting. 

Snyder's 26 career home runs are the sixth most in program history, one ahead of teammate Morgan Robinson, who is at 25 home runs. Snider needs two more home runs to pass Marie Fogle, who had 27 round-trippers in her career from 2009-12. The school record is 35 by Robin Siliga (2005, 2007-09).
 

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