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NORFOLK, Va. – The doubleheader between the Norfolk State softball team and Delaware State originally scheduled for Sunday has been moved to Saturday. The first game of the twinbill is now slated to start at 4 p.m. at the NSU Softball Field.
Thunderstorms are forecast for Sunday in the Norfolk area, but Saturday temperatures are expected to be in the mid-60s with partly cloudy skies.
Fans can follow the action against the Hornets and throughout the season at home through the live video feed and through the live stats feed.
Scouting the Spartans: NSU fell to 2-6 on the season after last weekend's Spartan Invitational. The Spartans won their first two games of the year against North Carolina Central but have dropped their last six. NSU has yet to leave its home field this season.
NSU's bats have cooled after pounding North Carolina Central in the opening games of the year. NSU is hitting .289 as a team, with Jeanette Sauceda leading the way with a .522 average with 12 hits, six runs and six RBI. Leadoff hitter Danielle Wright has provided the pop in the lineup, hitting .429 with eight runs, two doubles, three home runs and 13 RBI.
Casey Pomeroy has compiled four hits in 12 at bats for a .333 average, while a pair of freshmen in Melina Valles and Kathy Cortez have also hit well for the Spartans. Both players are exactly 7-of-22 (.318), and Valles has compiled four runs with two doubles and five RBI. Cortez has scored six times and knocked in three. Freshman Nikki Jones is tied for the team lead with eight runs scored.
Alyssa Velazquez boasts a 3.18 ERA with 11 strikeouts in 11 innings, while Elizabeth Castaneda has thrown 10.2 innings in relief with a 3.28 ERA and one save. Pomeroy has made a pair of starts with nine strikeouts in 12.0 innings and a 3.50 ERA, and freshman Jamie Schulle has started four games and thrown 18.1 innings.
One More to Go: NSU hosted the Spartan Invitational last weekend, with a total of 12 games played between six different teams from Friday night through late Sunday afternoon. NSU will again host another weekend-long tournament March 12-13 with the Spartan Classic. Action gets underway at 9 a.m. both days and is expected to last into the early evening.
Delaware, UMES, Marist and St. Francis (PA) will join the host Spartans in the tournament. NSU will play at 9 a.m. and approximately 1 p.m. Saturday, and at 9 a.m. and approximately 5 p.m. Sunday.
Velazquez Closing in on Innings Pitched Record: Alyssa Velazquez is just 10.1 innings away from tying the program record for most innings pitched in a career. Velazquez has thrown 497.2 innings during her time at NSU. Angela Smith threw 508 innings for the Spartans during her mid-90s career.
Last Time Out: The Spartans tallied a pair of runs in the bottom of the first inning but were no-hit over the last six innings in a 3-2 loss to Fairleigh Dickinson last Sunday in the Spartan Invitational.
Junior Danielle Wright smacked a home run to lead off the first inning for the Spartans, and freshman Melina Valles hit an RBI single a few batters later to give NSU a 2-0 lead. The Knights tied the score with a pair of runs in the top of the second, then got the go-around run across the plate in the sixth inning on an RBI double.
Senior Alyssa Velazquez pitched all seven innings, giving up three earned runs on six hits with four strikeouts. The Spartans had just two hits at the plate in the game.
NSU also lost to Morgan State, 9-1, last Friday, and then to George Washington, 4-2, and Monmouth, 6-5, on Saturday in the three-day tournament.
About Delaware State: The Hornets, predicted to finish second in the MEAC Northern Division this year, stand 4-1 on the young season. Included in that win total are a pair of victories over North Carolina Central, 10-2 and 16-8, as well as a 12-1 defeat of South Carolina State.
Andrea Waters and Casey Beighley have provided the production at the plate this year, with Waters hitting .529 with eight runs, three doubles and a team-leading seven RBI, while Beighley has hit .526 with six runs, four doubles, one home run and four RBI. Delaware State is hitting .404 as a team.
Beighley and Amber Coburn each earned two wins last weekend down in Raleigh, N.C. Beighley has given up three earned runs in 11.1 innings for a 2.38 ERA while striking out 10, while Coburn sports a 3.38 ERA with nine strikeouts in just 5.1 innings.
Up Next: NSU will travel to James Madison on Wednesday for a doubleheader with the Dukes beginning at 2 p.m.
