NORFOLK, Va. —  The Norfolk State softball team opens the 2010 season in the 3rd annual Tiny Laster Fastpitch Softball Tournament in Conyers, Ga. at the Earl O'Neal Sports Complex. The tournament features 13 teams from Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU's) representing the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC), Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) and Ohio Valley Conference (OVC).

The tournament, originally scheduled to be a three-day affair, has been cut back to two days because of snowy conditions. The event is named in honor of Hampton University's legendary softball and volleyball coach, Tiny Laster.

NSU opens the tournament with a noon matchup on Saturday against Alcorn State and will play Alabama A&M at 2 p.m. Sunday's action will pit the Spartans against six-time consecutive SWAC Champion Mississippi Valley State at 10 a.m. and Tennessee State at noon.

Other attending teams include SWAC representative Grambling State University, perennial MEAC power Florida A&M University (2009 MEAC Champion), Hampton, Morgan State, North Carolina A&T, South Carolina State, Maryland Eastern Shore, Winston Salem State and Tennessee State University of the Ohio Valley Conference.

NSU participated in the inaugural tournament in 2008 and went 1-3 with its only win coming against Grambling.

The Spartans went 22-25 last season, finishing third in the MEAC Southern Division with a 6-6 record. Redshirt junior pitcher Alyssa Velazquez (Aurora, Va.) and senior catcher Meghan Ramsey (Virginia Beach, Va.) earned All-MEAC first team honors in 2009, while senior outfielder Brianeisha Eure (Virginia Beach, Va.), senior shortstop Jamie Raab (Houston, Texas) and senior catcher Rebecca Barnes (Hampton, Va.) were named to the second team.

Up-to-date information on any weather-related changes in the game schedule can also be found at www.nsuspartans.com.