CLEVELAND, Mississippi -- The Delta State University softball team will put its perfect 3-0 Gulf South Conference record on the line when it hosts the University of West Alabama in a three-game series, starting with a doubleheader on Friday, Feb. 19 and ending with a single contest on Saturday at noon.


LADY STATESMEN SOFTBALL GAMEDAY INFO


 

DATE | OPPONENT | TIME	Feb. 19 | West Alabama (DH) | 3 p.m. Feb. 20 | West Alabama | Noon
INTERNET RADIO	CLICK HERE Philip Tang (Play-by-Play)
GAME NOTES	Lady Statesmen Softball Game Notes
SOCIAL MEDIA UPDATES	@DSUScores

 













LADY STATESMEN TO HOST WEST ALABAMA IN GSC SERIES
 

• The Lady Statesmen continue their 13-game home stand on Feb. 19-20 when they host West Alabama for a three-game series.
• After not playing a home game in February last season, DSU is scheduled to play 11 February contests at the friendly confines of University Field in 2016.
• The Lady Statesmen were 2-1 against the Tigers in 2015. The teams combined to score 67 runs, including a 17-14 victory for the Green-and-White in game two.

 
QUICK HITS
 

• With the three victories over in-state rival Mississippi College, the Lady Statesmen earned their first GSC sweep since 2005.
• The Lady Statesmen have outscored opponents 44-14 in the first two innings.

 
SETTING THE STAGE: WEST ALABMA
 

• DSU took 2-of-3 from the Lady Choctaws in 2015. The Lady Statesmen opened the series with a 6-0 victory, before the teams split a pair of one-run contests.
• Casey Charles is 5-12 against the Tigers, including a 3-3 mark in the last six meetings. 
• Kassidy Tally helped lead the way for the Lady Statesmen against the Tigers last year, as she finished the three game series 6-for-9.
• In its last trip to Cleveland (2014), West Alabama claimed two-of-three from the Lady Statesmen.

 
 
EARLY AND OFTEN
The Lady Statesmen are 10-2 when scoring the first run of a game. DSU has scored a combined 44 runs in the first two innings, compared to just 21 in the sixth and seventh.
 
GOING GOING GONE
In the three game GSC sweep of in-state rival Mississippi College, the Lady Statesmen used a pair of grand slams to help earn victories in games one and two. With DSU trailing 4-2 in the bottom of the sixth, Kara Lane Nowell hit her first career home run to give the Lady Statesmen the lead. In game two, Chelsea Lamping gave DSU a 9-0 lead in the second inning when she hit her first career dinger.
 
SPEED KILLS
On March 17, 2015 Kassidy Tally slid into the GSC record book as she broke the career stolen bases record (135) of former Lady Statesman Alyse Hasty. Tally, who currently ranks fifth in NCAA Division II history, is the active NCAA leader with 178 swipes, also holds the GSC single-season record with 74 in 2014. The Raleigh, Miss., native is tied for first in GSC history and second in NCAA Division II history with 67 consecutive steals without being caught.
 
WE WANT SOME MOORE
During her three-year career, Kaitlin Moore has made her mark on the DSU record book. Moore has a .370 career batting average, which ranks third in DSU history. On Feb. 6 in a 12-4 victory over Rogers State, Moore broke former teammate Amber Adcock's school record with her 51st double. The Southaven, Miss., native is tied for fifth in RBIs (132) and ranks sixth in hits (210). 
 
DOWN GO THE CHAMPIONS
With their 3-2 victory on Jan. 30 over No. 1 North Georgia, the Lady Statesmen defeated the top ranked team for the first time since a 1-0 victory over Valdosta State on April 22, 2012. The loss ended a GSC record 38 game win streak, and was the 100th career win for head coach Casey Charles.
 
WE WERE MERELY FRESHMEN
Four DSU freshmen (Abi Gibson, Jordan Jones, Chelsea Lamping and Morgan Kazerooni) have accounted for 40 percent (56) of DSU's hits (137) this season.
 
Kazerooni, who has hit safely in eight straight contests, leads the team with 15 RBIs, is tied for the team lead with seven doubles and ranks second with a .442 batting average. Kazerooni and Jones are tied for the team lead with four multiple-RBI games.
 
Gibson ranks second on the team with four doubles. Her .370 batting average is fifth best.
 
DSU UNDER CHARLES
DSU is 192-208 since Casey Charles took over at the helm. The former Lady Statesman is 86-66 at University Field, 52-84 on the road and 54-59 at neutral sites.

 
LADY STATESMEN TABBED SIXTH
For the second straight season, the Delta State University softball team was picked to finish sixth in the Gulf South Conference preseason poll.
 
For the second straight year, Valdosta State (92 points) and Alabama Huntsville (87) were picked first and second. 2015 GSC Champion and NCAA Semifinalist Shorter (86) was picked to finish third. North Alabama (80) received the final first place vote.
 
Lee (65), in its first year as a full member of the GSC, was selected fifth.
 
The Lady Statesmen had three fifth place votes, four sixth place votes and three seventh place votes. Union (39), West Alabama (38), West Florida (33 points), West Georgia (24) and Christian Brothers (11) rounded out the poll.