CLEVELAND, Miss. -- The No. 21 Delta State University softball team (27-7, 16-2) is scheduled to travel to Florence, Ala., for a three-game Gulf South Conference series with No. 4 University of North Alabama (32-4, 16-2). The teams are currently tied for first place in the GSC. First pitch for Friday's doubleheader is scheduled for 2 p.m. The series finale is set for Saturday at 1 p.m.

 

DATE | OPPONENT | TIME	March 25  | No. 4 UNA (DH) | 2 p.m. March 26 | No. 4 UAH | 1 p.m.
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DSU TO FACE UNA IN BATTLE FOR FIRST PLACE IN GSC
The Lady Statesmen will look to maintain their first place standing in the GSC when they travel to face North Alabama on March 25-26 at the UNA Softball Complex. DSU and UNA are currently tied for first place with a 16-2 mark in GSC contests.

• The Lady Statesmen are 12-3 in their last 15 contests. In its last GSC series, DSU claimed a pair of games over Alabama Huntsville. 
• In the 8-0 victory over UAH (3-19) the Lady Statesmen recorded their fourth mercy rule victory of the season. It marked the first time since 2010 that the Chargers were defeated via the mercy rule.

 
QUICK HITS

• For the first time in school history the Lady Statesmen are ranked in the NFCA Top 25 poll. DSU checked in at No. 21 in the March 23 edition of the poll.
• DSU is 7-2 in road contests in 2016.  

 
SETTING THE STAGE: UNA

• The Lions hold a 7-3 edge over the last 10 meetings with DSU, with five of those contests coming in 2013. The Lady Statesmen lost all four regular season meetings, before claiming a 3-1 victory at the GSC Tournament. The only meeting in 2015 between two of the founding members of the GSC was an 8-0 (5) victory for the Lions at the GSC Tournament.
• Kassidy Tally is batting .333 (9-for-27) in her career against the Lions, while fellow senior Kaitlin Moore has hit .300 (10-for-30).

 
 
 
MAKING HISTORY
With their appearance in the March 23 edition of the NFCA Top 25 poll, the Lady Statesmen are ranked for the first time in the history of the program. After receiving votes for two straight weeks, DSU checked in at No. 21 in the latest poll.
 

200 CLUB
In the second game of the doubleheader sweep of Miles (3-15) Kassidy Tally appeared in her 200th career contest. Tally needs just nine more games to break into the DSU record book. Kaitlin Moore entered the 200 club against Alabama Huntsville on Saturday, March 19.
 

LEADERS OF THE PACK
Kaitlin Moore and Kassidy Tally each lead/tie all active NCAA players in two statistical categories. Moore is tied with Brielle Reighn (Caldwell) with 62 career doubles. Tally is the active NCAA leader with 211 stolen bases. Tally also ranks third in career at bats (678).
 
Among NCAA Division II players, Tally ranks second in at bats, fourth in runs (178) and fifth in games played (203), while Moore is fourth in hits (245) and fifth in at bats (653). Tally currently leads the nation with 50 steals, while Moore is tied for the lead with 15 doubles.
 

HIT PARADE
DSU ranks third in the GSC with a .331 team batting average. The Lady Statesmen also rank second in the league with 63 doubles.
 
Kaitlin Moore leads the team, hitting .435, while Morgan Kazerooni, who has a hit in all but seven games, is batting .416. Kassidy Tally, who has reached base safely in all but one game, is batting .400.
 
 
 EARLY AND OFTEN
The Lady Statesmen are 22-2 when scoring the first run of a game. DSU has outscored opponents 84-25 in the first two innings, compared to a 44-42 deficit in the fourth and fifth.  


 
LET'S GET A ROUND-TRIPPER
The Lady Statesmen are a perfect 10-0 when hitting a home run this season.
 

TAYLOR SQUARED
Taylor Tucker has recorded a win in each of her last three starts. She has allowed just three earned runs (1.59 ERA) over the last 13.2 innings. Tucker allowed just one run in a complete game win over then No. 3 UAH, who currently leads the GSC with a .349 batting average.
 
Taylor Johnson earned her first career shutout, and allowed just one hit when she defeated UAH 8-0 (5) on March 19.
 
 
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.