This Week's Schedule
Thursday: NSU at Longwood (DH), 4:30 p.m., Lancer Field
Saturday: Morgan State at NSU (DH), 1 p.m., NSU Softball Field
Sunday: Morgan State at NSU, Noon, NSU Softball Field
Live Stats | Live Video | Live Audio (Longwood)
Live Stats | Live Video (Morgan State)

NORFOLK, Va. – The Norfolk State softball team will get one last non-conference test on Thursday before a key MEAC weekend at home, with NSU set to face Longwood and Morgan State over the next several days.

NSU will travel to Farmville, Va., for a doubleheader at Longwood on Thursday beginning at 4:30 p.m. The Spartans will face the Bears Saturday at 1 p.m. for a twinbill at the NSU Softball Field, followed by a single game on Sunday at noon.

The games at Longwood will be broadcast live in both audio and video format, while live stats will also be available for both games there. In addition, live stats and a live video feed for the NSU-Morgan State series will be accessible as well.

Longwood, an independent team joining the Big South next season, owns a 24-16 record heading into Wednesday's doubleheader against Virginia Tech at home. The Lancers lost to Radford, 4-1, and split a pair of games against Virginia, 0-2, 3-0, a week ago. Morgan State fell to 7-16 overall and 1-5 in MEAC play after Delaware State swept last weekend's three-game series in Baltimore.

NSU, meanwhile, stands 15-17 overall, 4-2 in conference play after a three-game sweep of their own last weekend, 8-0, 10-0 and 4-2 over UMES on the road. Longwood has won all 15 meetings with NSU, while the Spartans have a 16-10 all-time record against Morgan State.

Scouting the Spartans
It's been a pair of freshmen pacing the offense for NSU recently, with outfielder Haley Ward leading the way with a .413 average and 21 runs, seven doubles, 12 RBI and a current 12-game hitting streak. Second baseman Alina Moriarty ranks second on the team with a .364 average with 10 runs and 14 RBI. Senior third baseman Whitney Holland is hitting an even .300 with 11 runs, five doubles, three home runs and a team-leading 15 RBI, while junior shortstop Gipsy Ramirez carries a .289 average with five doubles and 14 RBI.

Sophomore outfielder Morgan Boyd is a perfect 14-of-14 in stolen base attempts this year with a .280 average and 15 runs scored, and senior outfielder Danielle Wright has chipped in with a .267 average, 15 runs, four doubles and nine RBI.

Freshman Liz Riley owns an 8-9 record with a 2.55 ERA, while sophomore Jamie Schulle owns a 7-8 record and 3.09 ERA. Schulle has struck out 91 batters in 113.1 innings pitched. Both pitchers have thrown three shutouts this year.

MEAC Series Rescheduled
The NSU-Howard MEAC series originally scheduled for March 31-April 1 at Howard will now be played April 25-26 at the NSU Softball Field. Howard had to originally cancel the series due to NCAA eligibility issues.

Record Chasing
With 91 strikeouts, Schulle is only 19 away from tying Alyssa Velazquez' Division I record of 110 K's in a season. The all-time NSU program record stands at 165, set by Catherine Wright in 1990. The team's combined 2.84 ERA is also within distance of the D-I record of 2.73 set by the 2001 pitching staff.

MEAC Leaderboard
Ward and Coppin State's Paige Arnold rank as the only two MEAC players hitting above .400 this year. Ward, at .413, stands second to Arnold's current .434 clip. Moriarty, meanwhile, ranks seventh among regular players with her .364 average.

Boyd stands second with 14 stolen bases, while Ward is fourth with 38 hits and Melina Valles is fourth with 13 walks. Schulle, meanwhile, stands in a tie for third with 91 strikeouts and seventh in ERA (3.09). Riley ranks fourth in ERA at 2.55.

Longwood
The Lancers have faced steep competition this year, highlighted by a 4-1 win over then-No. 25 DePaul March 25. Longwood swept Hampton, 3-1, 5-4, and North Carolina Central, 6-2, 6-1, this year, and also owns a pair of wins over James Madison, 2-1, 9-0.

Ashley Kramer leads the Lancers with a .370 batting average, while Megan Baltzell owns a .353 average and team-leading totals of 35 runs, 11 doubles, two triples, 28 RBI and 11 stolen bases to go along with eight home runs. Jordan Cox has added nine homers and 27 RBI, with Brooke Short (.290, 4 home runs, 23 RBI) and Marci Christian (.257, five home runs, 21 RBI) also providing plenty of pop in the lineup.

Ashley Cornell owns an 8-5 record with a 2.86 ERA, having walked 40 in 83.1 innings pitched. Short has started eight games and carries a 6-3 record and 4.06 ERA, while Libby Morris rounds out the rotation with a 10-8 record and 5.28 ERA.

Morgan State
Along with the three-game sweep at the hands of Delaware State, Morgan State has also gone 1-2 against both Hampton and Savannah State, 1-1 against South Carolina State and 2-0 versus North Carolina A&T. NSU, meanwhile, has gone 4-2 against the trio of Savannah State, S.C. State and N.C. A&T.

Danielle Lugo leads the way with a .358 average and 10 RBI, while Devina Brown (.343, 19 runs, 13 stolen bases) and Lydia Walther-Rodriguez (.333, 13 runs, 10 RBI) also pace the Morgan State offense. Shareday Christina leads all players with 12 RBI and has one of the team's five home runs on the season. In the circle, Amber Bachman and Jordan Eades have made 21 of the 23 starts, with Bachman owning a 4.85 ERA and a 3-6 record, and Eades standing 4-8 with a 5.11 ERA.

Up Next
With half of the conference season complete after this weekend, the Spartans will begin the latter half of the MEAC season at Delaware State April 21-22 in Delaware.