Weekend Home Schedule
Saturday: NSU vs. Marist, Noon; NSU vs. Fairleigh Dickinson, 2 p.m.
Monday: NSU vs. Canisius (DH), 1 p.m.
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NORFOLK, Va. – Following the postponement of Thursday's doubleheader at North Carolina Central due to inclement weather, the Norfolk State softball team will now kick off its 2012 season at home Saturday against Marist and Fairleigh Dickinson.
The Spartans will get things going against Marist at noon at the NSU Softball Field, followed by Fairleigh Dickinson at 2 p.m. Marist and FDU will play each other at 10:30 a.m. and 4 p.m. Saturday. NSU's two games on Sunday were cancelled due to the threat of rain.
The home opener will also give the Spartans a chance to honor former teammate Jazmine Foreman, who passed away in a car accident last June in her hometown of Chesapeake. Foreman, a 2011 signee, played outfield at Grassfield High School, where she was named second-team All-Southeastern District her senior year. She was set to begin classes at NSU last fall during her freshman year and planned to major in nursing.
Friends and family will be on hand Saturday for NSU's home opener, with the pre-game ceremony honoring Foreman set to begin after the conclusion of the Fairleigh Dickinson-Marist game that starts at 10:30 a.m. Lineups and the national anthem, to be sung by a family friend of Foreman's, will begin approximately five minutes before the start of the NSU-Marist game.
Read the full article from last June on Foreman's passing here.
The Spartans will host Canisius on Monday as well for a doubleheader at 1 p.m. to cap a busy weekend. NSU will offer a live video stream of every game as well as a live stats feed. The live stats and live video feeds are available for all Spartan home games this season.
Season Preview
With a roster of 18 players, including a good mix of speed and power at the plate, NSU is looking to take the next step after posting a 23-25 record last year, including a 6-6 mark in conference play. The Spartans will be lead by a pair of seniors in Danielle Wright and Whitney Holland at the plate, while sophomore Jamie Schulle and freshman Liz Riley will anchor the rotation.
NSU returned 10 letterwinners all-together from last season while losing five, including All-MEAC performer Jeanette Sauceda and top pitcher Casey Pomeroy. The Spartans welcome eight newcomers to this year's squad, including five freshmen, two junior college transfers and junior Gillian Giarrizzo, who sat out in 2011 after transferring from James Madison.
Read the full season preview here.
Spartans Picked 3rd in MEAC North
The preseason poll is out, and NSU is picked to finish third in the MEAC Northern Division in what many are expecting to be a tight race. Delaware State earned 19 of 26 first-place votes for 290 points in the preseason poll, followed by Coppin State (195 points), NSU (194) and Howard (193) at 2-3-4.
In addition, senior outfielder Danielle Wright, senior third baseman Whitney Holland and sophomore catcher Kathy Cortez were each named to the preseason All-MEAC team, as NSU and Delaware State combined for 7 of the 12 players on the team.
Wright was named to the All-MEAC first team last year, while Cortez earned second-team honors. Holland fell just short of the 75 percent requirement for game participation last year but was easily one of the top third basemen in the league.
This season will mark for the first for NSU in the Northern Division after getting bumped out of the Southern Division by the additions of North Carolina Central and Savannah State to the MEAC this year.
Read the full article on the preseason poll here.
Up Next: The team will stay in Norfolk for another week, as NSU will host the Spartan Classic Feb. 25 and 26 at the NSU Softball Field. Action gets underway at 9 a.m. both days, with Army, Monmouth and Delaware joining host NSU for the eight-game tournament.
