LIVE STATS
Columbus State (10 a.m. CST Saturday) | Armstrong State (4 p.m. CST Saturday)
North Georgia (10:30 a.m. CST Sunday) | Augusta State (3:30 p.m. CST Sunday)

A NEW YEAR: The 18th-ranked UAH softball team will start a new campaign this weekend, participating in the 2016 PBC-GSC Southern Softball Showdown on Saturday and Sunday in Columbus, Georgia. UAH will take on host Columbus State at 10 a.m. CST on Saturday before facing off against Armstrong State at 4 p.m. CST. The Chargers will then face No. 1 North Georgia at 10:30 a.m. CST on Sunday and wrap up the event with a 3:30 CST contest against Augusta State.
 
THE EXPECTATIONS: UAH enters the year ranked in the national top 25 again, checking in at No. 18, and the Chargers were picked by the head coaches of the GSC to finish second in the league this year.
 
KEY RETURNERS: The Chargers placed five on the All-Gulf South Conference teams last year in the form of GSC Player of the Year Kaitlyn Bannister, first-team honoree Brianna Sullivan, and second-team selections Kimberly Jack, Tyler Harrison, and Victoria Frith, and four of those – Bannister, Sullivan, Jack and Harrison – return for the 2016 season and were named preseason all-conference selections. Bannister, Sullivan and Harrison each were also all-region performers last year.
 
CHASING RECORDS: A couple of program records appear in danger of falling as the 2016 campaign starts with Brianna Sullivan sitting second in career steals at 124, just eight behind Stephanie Berry's 132, and Kaitlyn Bannister is two back of Stephanie Pinto's 14 career sacrifice flies with 12.
 
NEW FACES: The Chargers have seven newcomers on the squad, and that group is headlined by Taylor Wascavage and Jada Hayes who both were key players at Hartselle High School where they won a state championship in their junior season in 2014.
 
ALL-TIME AGAINST THIS WEEKEND'S FIELD: The Chargers have faced all four teams before with the Chargers holding a 5-1 record against Augusta, while UAH is 12-8 against UNG including a 2-0 win last year at the Chillout. Columbus State (12-11) and Armstrong (4-3) both have winning records against UAH.