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NORFOLK, Va. – The Norfolk State softball team will get back on the field after an 11-day break as the Spartans host rival Hampton Thursday at 5 p.m. at the NSU Softball Field.
NSU (4-12) will continue its month-and-a-half homestand to start the season, having played all 16 games at its home park so far this year. Hampton owns a 6-17 record and has not played on its home turf since March 8.
Live stats and a live video feed will be available for the doubleheader as well as for all NSU home games this season.
About Hampton: The Pirates have struggled at the plate this year, hitting .232 as a team while opponents have a collective 3.13 ERA against Hampton. Bre'Anna Brown leads the team with a .283 batting average to go along with 11 runs and six RBI. Carla Trimble is hitting .274 with two home runs and nine RBI, while Travonna Byrd has a team-leading 10 RBI.
Tamara Vickers has crossed the plate a team-leading 14 times and is 9-for-9 on stolen base attempts. As a team, Hampton has been successful on 28-of-32 attempts.
Pitching, though, has been an issue, as Hampton owns a team 7.55 ERA, having given up 203 hits, including 18 home runs, and 182 runs in 138.1 innings. Pirate pitchers have also walked 88 while striking out 72. Byrd and Heather Ryder have started all but two games for Hampton. Byrd is 2-9 with a 6.35 ERA, and Ryder owns a 3-7 record with a 7.52 ERA.
Scouting the Spartans: NSU is hitting .250 as a team, and opponents own a 2.03 ERA, allowing 55 runs – 29 earned – in 100 innings. The Spartans carry a team 4.11 ERA into the doubleheader against Hampton, led by Casey Pomeroy, who sports a 2-3 record with 29 strikeouts in 37.1 innings and a 3.38 ERA.
Alyssa Velazquez (1-3, 3.76 ERA, 14 K's) and Jamie Schulle (1-4, 5.52 ERA, 17 K's) have made a combined 10 starts with Pomeroy earning the other six nods.
At the plate, Jeanette Sauceda paces the way with a .425 average and four doubles, eight runs and eight RBI. Danielle Wright leads the Spartans with 11 runs, four home runs, 14 RBI and seven stolen bases while hitting .347. Catcher Kathy Cortez, last week's MEAC Rookie of the Week, carries a .340 average with eight runs and five RBI.
NSU has also gotten production out of Melina Valles (.263, seven walks, five runs, five RBI), Nikki Jones (eight runs) and Candice Vasquez (five RBI).
Last Time Out: Casey Pomeroy gave up one run on four hits in seven innings in helping NSU salvage the last game of the Spartan Classic over UMES, 4-1, on March 13. The Spartans broke a five-game losing streak thanks to Pomeroy and third baseman Whitney Holland, whose two-run single in the first inning proved to be the difference in the victory.
Holland, catcher Kathy Cortez and left fielder Morgan Boyd all had two hits for the Spartans. NSU scored a third run in the first inning on an illegal pitch on UMES starter Carmen Gurrola, and then tallied an insurance run in the sixth inning on an RBI single by Cortez.
Velazquez Establishes New Mark: Alyssa Velazquez surprassed Angela Smith during the Spartan Classic for the most career innings pitched at NSU. Smith had owned the all-time record since 1997 of 508 innings before Velazquez passed her in the 7-0 loss to St. Francis (PA) on March 12. Velazquez has now thrown 509 career innings. Velazquez already owns the career appearances record with 108 and is eight starts away from tying Paulette Hack for the most ever at 90.
Lineup Changes: Except for the leadoff and cleanup spots, NSU has used at least three different players in every other spot in the lineup, including nine different players in the sixth hole and eight at the seventh spot in the batting order.
Only Jeanette Sauceda has maintained her place in the lineup every game, hitting cleanup in all 16 contests. Danielle Wright has batted leadoff in 14 games, while Morgan Boyd has hit ninth in 14 games as well.
Up Next: NSU will host Savannah State and UMES for a pair of doubleheaders next Monday and Wednesday at the NSU Softball Field.
