NORFOLK, Va. — The Norfolk State baseball team opens its 2008 season Friday in the HBCU Baseball Classic at Savannah State University. The four-team, round-robin event pits NSU against Chicago State on Friday at 1:30 p.m., against North Carolina Central at 10:30 a.m. on Saturday, and against host Savannah State at 1:30 p.m. Sunday.

Live stats for all NSU games this weekend, as well as all home games throughout the season, will be available here.

NSU is coming off a 25-25 record in 2007, which set a single-season school Division I record for total wins. NSU came in third place in the 2007 MEAC Baseball Tournament and ended the season ranked eighth in the black college baseball poll. The Spartans debuted this year at No. 6 in the black college poll.

Head coach Claudell Clark returns 14 letterwinners from last year's team, including four starting position players and four regular pitchers. Two of NSU's six 2007 All-MEAC performers return in senior infielder Moriba George (St. Thomas, U.S.V.I.) and senior pitcher Joey Seal (Newport News, Va.).