GRAMBLING, LA – The Alabama State softball team will look to build upon their fast start to the conference portion of their schedule as the top-hitting and best pitching team in the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) as they will be on the road this weekend against Western Division opponent Grambling State. 
 
The Lady Hornets (11-18 overall, 3-0 SWAC) open their series with the Lady Tigers on Friday with a first pitch set for 3 p.m. 
 
The three-game series continues Saturday with a doubleheader scheduled for a noon start.
 
It has been over two years since the teams last met on the diamond.
 
Grambling State pulled out a 10-3 win against ASU with an eight-run rally in the bottom of the sixth on March 21, 2014 on a neutral location in Longview, TX.
 
Alabama State won the prior meeting nearly one year earlier on March 24, 2013 with an 11-9 victory, also in Longview, TX, with two runs scored in the top of the seventh.
 
However, only three players on ASU's current roster remain from that 2013 team including pitchers Melissa Christmann and Rachel Mills and catcher Aleesa Yanez. 
 
By the numbers, the Lady Hornets have excelled both in the circle and at the plate better than any other team in the SWAC. 
 
ASU leads the conference in team batting average (.307) as well as team ERA (4.49).
 
While Grambling State (3-16, 1-2 SWAC) has played in 10 fewer games than ASU, their average numbers rank last in batting average (.187) and ERA (10.24) for the conference. 

Live stats for the games can be followed here:  http://www.sidearmstats.com/alasu/softball/
 
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