Upcoming Schedule
Friday: NSU vs. Villanova, 3:15 p.m., Delaware Invitational
Saturday: NSU at Delaware, 9 a.m., Delaware Invitational
Sunday: NSU vs. WMU, 9 a.m.; NSU vs. LaSalle, 1:30 p.m., Delaware Invitational
Monday: NSU vs. Central Connecticut State (DH), 5 p.m., NSU Softball Field
Tuesday: NSU vs. Central Connecticut State (DH), 2 p.m., NSU Softball Field
Live Stats (Delaware Invitational) | Live Stats (vs. CCSU) | Live Video (vs. CCSU)
NORFOLK, Va. – It will be a busy several days for the Norfolk State softball team, as the Spartans head to the Delaware Invitational Friday through Sunday before returning home to face Central Connecticut State in a pair of doubleheaders Monday and Tuesday.
NSU will face Villanova at 3:15 p.m. on Friday in the second game of the tournament and then play the first game on Saturday at 9 a.m. against host Delaware. The Spartans will then take on Western Michigan and LaSalle on Sunday at 9 a.m. and 1:30 p.m., respectively.
The Blue Devils of Central Connecticut State will arrive in town to play a twinbill Monday at 5 p.m. at the NSU Softball Field, followed by another pair of games Tuesday at 2 p.m. The Spartans will kick off conference play next weekend.
Live Stats will be available for the entire Delaware Invitational here. As always, live stats and a live video feed of the home games against the Blue Devils will be available as well.
NSU enters the weekend with an 8-6 record on the season after sweeping two from George Mason on Tuesday and splitting a doubleheader at North Carolina A&T on Wednesday. Sophomore Jamie Schulle upped her record to 5-2 on the year at A&T with a 2.68 ERA, striking out 42 in 62.2 innings. Freshman Liz Riley completes the NSU pitching staff, as she owns a 3-4 record with a 4.34 ERA.
Gipsy Ramirez and Haley Ward have been NSU's two most consistent hitters this year, with Ward hitting .406 on the year and Ramirez at .405 with four doubles and nine RBI. Freshman Alina Moriarty has come on strong as of late and is hitting .394 with seven RBI.
Whitney Holland leads the way with three home runs and 10 RBI on a .318 average. Outfielders Danielle Wright and Morgan Boyd have scored a team-leading 11 and 10 runs, respectively.
Clutch
It's been a season of comebacks, and NSU has been on both ends recently. N.C. A&T scored the winning run in the bottom of the seventh to defeat the Spartans 3-2 Wednesday in Game 1, but NSU scored the winning run on an RBI groundout from Robyn Mitchell in the top of the seventh in Game 2 in a 6-5 victory.
Against George Mason on Tuesday, NSU scored a run in the bottom of the sixth to go up 6-4, but the Patriots scored once in the top of the seventh before stranding a pair of runners on base to end the game. In Game 2, Danielle Wright hit a two-out, solo home run in the bottom of the seventh to tie it at 2-2, and Alina Moriarty's infield single with the bases loaded won it in the eighth.
Eight of NSU's games this year have been decided by one run, including the last four. Both Army and Savannah State posted wins over the Spartans by rallying in the bottom of the seventh, while the Spartans returned the favor against Delaware by scoring three in the bottom of the seventh in a 4-3 win on Feb. 26 in the Spartan Classic.
Ramirez, Riley Earn First MEAC Weekly Honors
Gipsy Ramirez was named the MEAC Player of the Week, while Liz Riley earned Rookie of the Week honors as the duo garnered the first weekly awards of the 2012 season from the conference office on Wednesay. The duo led NSU to a 3-1 mark last week, sweeping S.C. State and splitting with Savannah State.
Ramirez had six hits in 11 at bats with two doubles and four RBI. Riley picked up a pair of wins, allowing two earned runs in 12 total innings of work, including a six-inning shutout of S.C. State.
About Villanova
The Wildcats come in at 11-4 on the year, with their last contest, an 8-7 loss to Bradley, snapping a five-game losing streak. Villanova defeated Hampton by an 11-1 score two weeks ago and is led by Caitlyn Delahaba and Molly Manning in the circle. Delahaba owns a 6-3 record with a 3.45 ERA, while Manning carries a 5-1 mark with a 3.75 ERA.
The duo has been helped by an offense that is hitting .325 on the season, led by a trio of regular starters hitting above .400. Jamie O'Hara leads the way with a .463 average, 12 runs and eight RBI, with Valerie Ortega (.422, 12 runs, six doubles, six RBI) and Manning (.419, nine runs, one home run, nine RBI) contributing big for the Wildcats, too. Briana Fujii has hit four doubles, one triple, one home run with a team-leading 14 RBI, and both Tessa Braga (.341) and Kristi Burlin (.321) are also above the .300 plateau.
About Delaware
The Blue Hens have limped out to a 3-19 overall record this year against a difficult schedule and have lost 14 in a row dating back to a 13-2 win over Army Feb. 25 at the Spartan Classic. Three pitchers have started seven games each, led by Hannah Rust who owns two of the team's wins on a 4.43 ERA. Chenxi Jiao and Brianna Jennings have also gotten plenty of starting nods, but together they own a collective 0-15 record.
Michelle McKinnon is the only player hitting above .300 on the year at .333 with a team-high 13 runs scored. Lara Andrews is hitting .295 with three doubles, two home runs and 11 RBI. Jess Grisler has smacked five doubles with seven RBI and is the only other player hitting above .230 on the season.
About Western Michigan
The Broncos stand 8-8 on the season against a competitive non-conference schedule, including a 14-0 win over MEAC school Bethune-Cookman two weeks ago. They are led by Meredith Whitney in the circle, as she owns a 6-4 record with 58 strikeouts in 61 innings while carrying a 2.75 ERA. Becca Shemberger carries a 4.00 ERA in 35 innings, while three other pitchers have combined to throw 4.0 innings on the year.
Gracie Barstad has 11 hits in 27 at bats with two doubles and six RBI, and Courtney Rousseau leads the way among the regular starters with a .352 average with 12 runs, four doubles a homer and eight RBI. Whitney, hitting .347 with a homer and nine RBI, and Christina Pigiozzi, hitting .324, have helped provide the offense for the Broncos.
About LaSalle
The Explorers have posted a 2-10 mark to start the season, with wins over North Carolina A&T and Coastal Carolina. LaSalle has also lost contests to MEAC schools Savannah State (4-2) and Hampton twice (6-4, 5-4). Alicia Aughton and Kristin Travers have seen nearly all of the action in the circle, with Aughton owning both wins and a 2.53 ERA.
The problem for the Explorers has been hitting, as the team is batting a collective .189 on the year. Aughton and Alyssa Bitsimis are each hitting .333, and Aughton's three RBI are tied for the team lead. Breanna Ditommaso and Kristin Travers are batting .250 and .233, respectively, with six other regular starters below .200.
About Central Connecticut State
The Blue Devils will stay busy with games on eight straight days, starting with a doubleheader at Yale on Thursday. They will also face Hampton and UMES Friday through Sunday at Hampton before staying in town to play the Spartans. CCSU stood 6-5 prior to the games at Yale.
Laura Messina has started six of the 11 games and owns a 3.85 ERA, but as a team CCSU carries just a 6.21 ERA. Macy Stefanski owns a team-leading .346 batting average, the only player above .290 on the team. Arielle Bruno has 10 hits, including a home run and five RBI. Nicole Springer has hit a pair of homers with five RBI.
Up Next
The Spartans will kick off conference play at home on March 24 and 25 against Coppin State.
