STATESBORO, Ga. - The Georgia Southern softball squad faces a stiff road test this week, traveling to preseason Sun Belt Conference favorite Texas State for a three-game league series, beginning Friday with a 2 p.m. ET doubleheader in San Marcos, Texas. The series wraps up with a single game on Saturday at 2 p.m. ET.

The Eagles (21-10, 6-3 SBC) are currently third in the league standings after winning their third straight league series to open up conference play, taking two of three games from UL Monroe last weekend. Georgia Southern is one of five Sun Belt teams in the Top 100 of the latest NCAA Division I RPI rankings, currently slotting in at No. 50. Texas State is No. 38, meaning this will be the fourth Top 50 RPI opponent this season for the Eagles (Florida, Georgia, South Alabama). The bats have remained hot for Georgia Southern all year, as the Eagles are second in the league in hitting with a .297 team average, while ranking second in home runs (30) and slugging percentage (.463). Georgia Southern is on pace to break the single-season school records for batting average and total home runs. Leading the way offensively for the Eagles is sophomore Hannah Farrell, whose eight home runs are tied for the Sun Belt Conference lead.

The lineup will get a serious test this weekend, however, against the Bobcats (22-8, 5-0 SBC) and preseason Sun Belt Pitcher of the Year Randi Rupp. The nation's second-leading strikeout artist (170), Rupp is 14-6 with a 1.41 ERA, limiting opposing hitters to just an .192 batting average. Her 170 strikeouts have come in just 134.1 innings of work. Texas State has had an extended break, however, as last weekend's three-game Sun Belt series at Appalachian State was snowed out, and their scheduled Wednesday game against UTSA was moved to later in the month. The Bobcats lost a 3-0 decision at Texas on March 21st, but before that, Texas State swept three from Coastal Carolina, winning 1-0, 7-4 and 10-0.

The Bobcats lead the overall series between the two teams, 8-3. Last year, Texas State took two of three from the Eagles in Statesboro, dropping the first game by a 2-0 score, then taking the next two games, 9-4 and 4-3.

Live stats will be available for all three games, while Texas State will have premium video of all three games.