Finally the full-fledged ace in her final collegiate season, Erin Arevalo is shining in the pitcher’s circle for the University of Georgia’s softball team.

The Lathrop native and former East Union star (2005-08) will lead the nationally-seeded No. 10 Bulldogs against No. 7 Tennessee (50-11) in an NCAA Division-I Super Regional this weekend. The best-of-three series begins Saturday at 9 a.m. (PST) in Knoxville, Tenn. and will air on ESPNU. Game 2 is scheduled for a 1 o’clock start Sunday with the “if necessary” game following. Sunday’s contests are airing on ESPN.

Georgia will make its fourth successive Super Regional appearance and is looking to reach the College World Series for a third time in four years.

This past Sunday, Georgia (44-15) defeated North Carolina (43-15) 2-1 to clinch the Athens Regional title. Arevalo earned her third win of the tournament, striking out six and walking none in a three-hitter.

The four-time Manteca Bulletin All-Area MVP is enjoying a big bounce-back season after she was limited to 19 appearances (five starts) in 2011. She was named to the All-Southeastern Conference second team after leading the Bulldogs’ pitching staff in wins (22), complete games (22), innings pitched (195.1) and strikeouts (234) during the regular season. With her career-high 15-strikeout effort at LSU, she became the fourth pitcher in program history to break the 200-strikeout barrier in a single season.

Overall, Arevalo is 26-7 with a 1.37 ERA and 256 strikeouts in 225 innings. She has issued just 45 walks and scattered 142 hits.

Arevalo will end her career in Georgia’s record books in several categories. She is currently tied for sixth for single-season wins and No. 3 in single-season strikeouts. Her career total of 492 strikeouts is No. 4 all-time.