NEW ORLEANS – The Sun Belt Conference softball league schedule enters the fifth weekend of league play beginning Friday, April 10. All 18 Sun Belt contests between Thursday and Saturday will be broadcast on ESPN+.
 
WHAT TO WATCH FOR

• HEADSTRONG HERD: Riding a six-game winning streak and victorious in 20 of its last 22 games dating back to Feb. 27, Marshall (29-10, 10-2) has pulled ahead for a two-game lead over second place in the Sun Belt standings behind a powerful offense and timely pitching. The Thundering Herd lead the Sun Belt and rank No. 8 nationally in home runs (70) while the pitching staff is second in the conference in earned run average (3.00) which ranks No. 32 in the country. In league play, the Herd leads all teams in home runs (26) and fielding percentage (.984), as the defense has committed just five errors in 12 games.
• GOLDEN EAGLES GRIND: Southern Miss (27-15, 8-4 SBC) is off to a strong start in Sun Belt play as one of three teams tied for second place in the conference standings at the halfway point of league play. Alongside first-place Marshall, the Golden Eagles are the only team to win all four of their Sun Belt series thus far, claiming two out of three against Louisiana (22-17, 5-7 SBC), App State (24-13, 4-8 SBC), Troy (24-14, 5-7 SBC) and James Madison (16-20, 4-8 SBC). Through `12 conference games, Southern Miss leads the Sun Belt in batting average (.325) and on-base percentage (.427) heading into a three-game set hosting Georgia Southern (17-20, 5-7 SBC).
• SERIES STATUSES: While Marshall and Southern Miss have won each of their first four Sun Belt series, just two teams have won three of their four sets this season: Coastal Carolina (21-19, 6-6 SBC) and ULM (25-18, 8-4 SBC). The Chanticleers have taken two of three games from App State, Georgia State (23-20, 3-9 SBC) and James Madison, while the Warhawks swept Louisiana and took two of three from Georgia Southern and South Alabama (24-18, 8-4 SBC), respectively. South Alabama and Marshall are the only teams to record multiple sweeps so far this year with two apiece.
• ROUND TRIP REGULARS: Three Sun Belt teams rank among the nation’s leaders in total home runs this season, as Marshall’s 70 big flies rank eighth, while App State (64) ranks 12th and Coastal Carolina (62) ranks 16th. Individually, App State senior second baseman Makayla McClain’s 18 home runs are the sixth most nationally, while Marshall sophomore third baseman Sydni Burko and Coastal Carolina junior first baseman Georgia Hood are tied for 23rd with 15 homers apiece. Hood’s Chanticleers will host Burko’s Thundering Herd in Conway, S.C., for a three-game set this weekend.
• RPI RUNDOWN: As of April 9, the Sun Belt Conference is one of just five conferences with 11 of its ranked in the top 100 of the NCAA’s Division I Softball RPI Rankings and comprises the most top 100 teams among all non-autonomy conferences. The Sun Belt is also the only non-autonomy conference with four teams listed in the top 50. Marshall leads the Sun Belt at No. 24 nationally as the highest-ranked non-autonomy program in the country and is followed by Texas State (40), Louisiana (46) and South Alabama (49) inside the top 50. ULM (62), App State (64), Coastal Carolina (66), Southern Miss (76), Troy (80) and Georgia Southern (90) round out the top 10 Sun Belt teams, followed closely by Georgia State (100) and James Madison (117).

 
SUN BELT SOFTBALL SERIES – WEEK 5
 

Series	Friday	Saturday	Sunday
Louisiana at James Madison	4:00 p.m.	12:00 p.m.	11:00 a.m.
Marshall at Coastal Carolina	5:00 p.m.	1:00 p.m.	11:00 a.m.
Texas State at Troy	6:00 p.m.	3:30 p.m.	11:00 a.m.
Georgia Southern at Southern Miss	6:00 p.m.	3:00 p.m.	11:00 a.m.
App State at ULM	6:00 p.m.	2:00 p.m.	12:00 p.m.
Georgia State at South Alabama	6:00 p.m.	3:00 p.m.	12:00 p.m.

 
All Times CT