NEW ORLEANS – The Sun Belt Conference softball schedule closes the book on March with the third weekend of league play beginning Friday, March 27. All 18 Sun Belt contests between Friday and Sunday will be broadcast on ESPN+.
 
WHAT TO WATCH FOR

• HERD HEATING UP: Marshall (23-9, 5-1 SBC) holds an early lead atop the Sun Belt softball standings through two weeks of conference play while taking a league-best six-game winning streak on the road for a three-game series against reigning regular season champion Texas State (20-13, 3-3 SBC). The Thundering Herd have won 14 of their last 15 games and rank among the nation’s leaders with 56 home runs but will head into a matchup against the Bobcats - the Sun Belt’s preseason favorite - for a battle between two of the conference’s top teams in earned run average. Texas State leads the way with a 2.87 ERA which ranks No. 27 nationally, as Marshall is third in the Sun Belt and No. 34 in the country at 3.06.
• HITTING CLINICS: ULM (19-17, 3-3 SBC) hosts Louisiana (20-13, 3-3) SBC) in a matchup between two of the Sun Belt’s top hitting teams, as the Warhawks rank third in the conference in hits (262) this season while the Ragin’ Cajuns are fourth (259). Meanwhile, Additionally, in App State’s (21-9, 2-4 SBC) home series against Georgia State )19-14, 1-5 SBC), the league’s No. 2 and No. 3 overall individual hits leaders will square off when senior second baseman Makayla McClain (46) leads the Mountaineers versus the Panthers’ senior outfielder McKenzie Walker (44).
• POWER ALLEY: Three Sun Belt teams rank among the top teams nationally in home runs this season, as Coastal Carolina and Marshall are tied for ninth with 56 apiece and App State is 11th with 55. The trio of programs also comprise the conference’s top eight individual home run hitters who all rank in the top 100 nationally, led by McClain at sixth overall (16) and Coastal Carolina’s Georgia Hood in 12th (14). Marshall’s Sydni Burko (12) and Bella Gerlach (11), Coastal’s McKennah Metzger (11), Marshall’s Ava Blake (10), App State’s Taylor Schafer (10) and Coastal’s Kaelin Cash (9) round out the league’s leaders in round-trippers.
• ON-BASE OPTICS: Troy (20-10, 3-3 SBC) hosts Southern Miss (22-13, 4-2 SBC) for a matchup between two of the Sun Belt’s top teams in on-base percentage (OBP) this season. The Trojans lead the conference and rank No. 36 nationally with a .425 OBP, while the Golden Eagles are third in the league and No. 40 nationally with a .421 OBP.  Additionally, Southern Miss has been deliberate in its effort to manufacture runs, ranking second in the Sun Belt and No. 21 in the country with 22 sacrifice bunts, and standing tied for No. 1 nationally with 22 sacrifice flies on the year. Meanwhile the Trojans take a more aggressive approach on the basepaths, leading the conference with 75 stolen bases which stands 11th in the national rankings.
• RPI RUNDOWN: As of March 25, the Sun Belt Conference softball has 10 of its 12 programs are ranked in the top 100 of the NCAA’s Division I RPI Rankings which is tied with the Big 12 Conference for the fourth most nationally. The Sun Belt is one of just five conferences with at least 10 teams within that threshold and comprises the most top 100 teams among all non-autonomy conferences. Marshall leads the Sun Belt at No. 30 nationally, followed by Louisiana (40), South Alabama (45) and Coastal Carolina (47) inside the top 50. Texas State (53), App State (72), Troy (78), ULM (83), Southern Miss (86) and Georgia State (96) round out the top 10, followed closely by James Madison (101) and Georgia Southern (105).

 
SUN BELT SOFTBALL SERIES – WEEK 3
 

Series	Friday	Saturday	Sunday
Georgia Southern at Coastal Carolina	12 & 3 p.m.	11:00 a.m.	No Game
South Alabama at James Madison	5:30 p.m.	12:00 p.m.	11:00 a.m.
Georgia State at App State	5:00 p.m.	2:00 p.m.	11:00 a.m.
Louisiana at ULM	6:00 p.m.	2:00 p.m.	12:00 p.m.
Marshall at Texas State	6:00 p.m.	2:00 p.m.	10:00 a.m.
Southern Miss at Troy	6:00 p.m.	3:30 p.m.	12:00 p.m.

 
All Times CT