GAME NOTES: Delta State @ Lee
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CLEVELAND, Miss. - The Delta State University softball team travels to Cleveland, Tenn., this weekend for a three-game Gulf South Conference series at Lee University. The Lady Statesmen (20-16, 10-11 GSC) and the Flames (16-23, 5-12 GSC) will play a doubleheader on Saturday, April 6 starting at Noon at Stanley Butler Field. The series finale is set for Noon on Sunday. Streaming audio/video, live stats and complete game recaps will be available at GoStatesmen.com.     

In the last decade, Delta State has posted an 8-7 record against Lee. The Lady Statesmen won the series 2-1 last year at University Field, but the Flames are 5-1 at Stanley Butler Field against DSU.

The Lady Statesmen enter the weekend batting .275 as a team while averaging 4.8 runs per game. DSU features a 3.70 ERA and is allowing 4.2 runs a game. The Flames come into the series batting .291, ranking sixth in the GSC, and 10th in ERA (4.77). Lee is averaging 4.6 runs per game while allowing 5.6 per contest.

AROUND THE HORN: @DELTASTATESB NEWS & NOTES

• Delta State enters the weekend series versus Lee with a 21-1 record when leading after five innings of play. The Lady Statesmen are 10-1 when leading after five and 11-0 after six.
   
• The Lady Statesmen are 15-2 this season when out hitting their opponents.
   
• Delta State is 11-2 this season when scoring six or more runs in a game. The Lady Statesmen are 7-2 when scoring 6-9 runs in a game and 4-0 when plating 10+ in a contest.
   
• The Lady Statesmen are 11-3 when allowing two or fewer runs in a game, including four shutouts.
   
• Taylor Picou, a freshman infielder for the Lady Statesmen, enters the weekend series versus Lee batting .250 with a double, six home runs and 14 RBIs. The Morgan City, La., native has started all 36 games for Delta State at third base. In those 36 starts, Picou is 22-for-88 at the plated with 12 runs scored and has successfully stolen 3-of-5 base attempts. In last Sunday's 9-8 win over No. 8 Alabama Huntsville, Picou blasted a pair of home runs, including the walk-off winner in the bottom of the seventh inning.
   
• Jordan Jones enters the series hitting .336 (38-of-118) with nine doubles, five home runs and a team-leading 35 RBIs. She is tied for fifth in the GSC in RBIs (35) and sixth in doubles (9). The four-year letter winner has recorded 11 multiple hit games and nine multiple RBI games. A career .333 hitter, the Crystal Springs native ranks fifth in school history with 43 career doubles and 10th in hits with 183.
   
• Kelly Byrd continues to lead the Lady Statesmen at the plate, batting .417 with 10 doubles, seven home runs and 27 RBIs. The Terry native currently ranks fifth in the GSC in batting while leading the league in on-base percentage. Her seven home runs are tied for fifth in the GSC with her 25 walks rank third. She has also scored 29 runs in 96 at-bats.
   
• Nicole Fullilove enters the weekend leading the GSC in innings pitched (130.1) while ranking in the top five in wins (11) and strikeouts (106). The senior from Batesville is 11-9 in the circle for the Lady Statesmen with a 2.75 ERA. In her 21 starts, Fullilove has thrown 127.1 innings while allowing 63 runs, 50 earned, on 117 hits. The hard-throwing right-handed pitcher has struck-out 106 batters with just 31 walks.
   
• Ta'mya Johnson has found her swing again as a true freshman mainstay in the lineup, hitting .277 with six doubles, three home runs and 24 RBIs. She has scored 16 runs on the year & is second on the club with nine multi-RBI games.
   
• Abi Gibson, a four-year starter at shortstop, continues to shine at the plate and in the field during her final season at Delta State. The Coldwater native is batting .262 with 23 runs scored, five doubles and five RBIs. The four-year letter winner and three-time GSC All-Academic Team pick is a career .294 hitter with 161 hits, 26 doubles and 114 runs scored.
   
• The Lady Statesmen are batting .272 with runners in scoring position this season while opponents are managing a .236 clip. Senior outfielder/utility Jordan Jones has been the best in these situations, hitting .449 (22-for-49) including 28 of her 35 RBIs. Kelly Byrd is also batting .394 (13-for-33) with RISP.
   
• Delta State enters this weekend's series versus Lee with a 4-5 record against teams ranked in the National Fastpitch Coaches Association Top 25 Poll. The Lady Statesmen upended No. 5 Saint Leo (1-0) at the Gulf Shores Invitational followed by back-to-back victories over No. 12 Illinois-Springfield (9-7) and No. 1 Southern Indiana (13-4) at the Charger Chillout in Huntsville, Ala. DSU also lost three-straight last weekend to the new No. 1 in this week's NFCA Top 25 - West Florida. The Lady Statesmen won game three, 9-8, against No. 8 Alabama Huntsville last weekend, but dropped games one (8-0) and two (2-1).
   
• Casey Charles, a former All-Gulf South Conference shortstop for the Lady Statesmen from 1999-2002, is entering her 11th season as head coach at Delta State. In her previous 10 seasons, the Lady Statesmen are 282-291 with nine trips to the Gulf South Conference Tournament and a 2014 NCAA South Regional Tournament appearance. She has coached 21 All-GSC selections, four NFCA All-South Region players, and two D2CCA All-Region performers. Off the field, 77 Lady Statesmen have been named to the GSC Academic Honor Roll while five have won the prestigious Charles S. Kerg Senior Athlete of the Year Award at Delta State.