SAVANNAH, Ga. – The Savannah State University softball team (1-4) travels to Spartanburg, S.C., for four games this weekend for the first road trip of the season.

The Lady Tigers start the USC Upstate Tournament with the University of Akron (0-5) at noon on Friday, followed by Furman University (1-5) at 4 p.m. on the first day and faces Akron on Saturday at 11 a.m. and host USC Upstate (2-0) at 3 p.m. on the second day.

Junior outfielder Chasney Jenkins leads the Lady Tigers with a .538 (7-for-13) batting average with five runs scored and four RBIs, while freshman utility player Cortni Jones batted .455 (5-for-11) with three runs scored, a home run and four RBIs and senior first baseman Torrian Wright went .375 (3-for-8) with two runs scored, a home run and three RBIs.

Jenkins leads the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference with a .700 on-base percentage, which ranks 28th in the National Collegiate Athletic Association and second in the MEAC with a .538 batting average, while Wright is second with a .667 on-base percentage, which ranks 37th in the NCAA and leads the MEAC in walks with 1.50, which ranks fourth in the NCAA.  

As a team, the Lady Tigers are hitting .264, which ranks fifth in the conference and has recorded 0.40 home runs per game, which ranks second in the MEAC.  SSU is sporting a 5.15 ERA, which ranks fifth in the conference and is fourth with a .344 slugging percentage in the conference.

Freshman Kasie Johnson leads the Lady Tigers with a 0.93 ERA in the opening weekend giving up two earned runs in 15.0 innings pitched.  The Patterson, Ga., native is one of two pitchers in the MEAC with a shutout performance this season, which ranks 12th in the NCAA.  

The Zips went winless in five games at the Stetson University Tournament last weekend including falling to a couple MEAC teams of Bethune-Cookman University, 3-2, and Morgan State University 4-2.

UA is led by Caitlin Gambone, who went 5-for-13 (.385) last weekend, while Gabrielle Fredericks went 4-for-13 (.308) with two RBIs and Kelley Hysong went 4-for-15 (.267) with a double, a triple and two RBIs.  As a team, the Zips are hitting .250 (30-for-120), while the pitching staff has recorded a 2.97 ERA and opponents are hitting .318 against them.

Furman went 1-3 at the Plainsmen Invitational in Auburn, Ala., with a win over Appalachian State 5-3, but the Paldins fell to Presbyterian in a doubleheader on Tuesday, 6-1 and 5-4.  Furman is led by Taylor Vahle with a .500 (6-for-12) batting average with three RBIs, while AnnaRose Borrelli and Candace Johnson each went 8-for-17 (.471).  Borrelli added a home run with five RBIs, while Johnson added a home run and an RBI.

As a team, the Paldins are hitting .284 (46-for-162) with eight doubles, two home runs and 13 RBIs and is sporting a 4.76 ERA with 24 strikeouts.  

USC Upstate swept the doubleheader at Gardner-Webb to start the season 6-3 and 10-0.   Kristen Wright recorded a hit in the only at-bat of the season, while Lindsay O'Steen batted .750 (3-for-4) with a double, home run and four RBIs and Bittany Case went 5-for-7 (.714) with four runs scored, a double and three RBIs.

As a team, the Spartans are hitting .344 (21-for-61) with 16 runs scored, four doubles and 15 RBIs and is sporting a 1.93 ERA with 17 strikeouts.  

The Lady Tigers return home for a doubleheader on Wednesday, Feb. 24 against Mercer University starting at 3 p.m. at the Lady Tiger Softball Field before heading on the road to Charleston, S.C., for the Charleston Southern Tournament from Feb. 26-28.
 
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