Upcoming Schedule
Saturday: NSU at Morgan State, 5 p.m., Coppin State Softball Field
Sunday: NSU at Morgan State (DH), Noon, Lois T. Murray Field
Tuesday: NSU at North Carolina Central (DH), 4 p.m., Parkwood Athletic Field | Listen Live
NORFOLK, Va. – The Norfolk State softball team will be on the road for the next several days, beginning with a three-game series at Morgan State this weekend. Following those contests, the Spartans will travel to North Carolina Central on Tuesday for a non-conference doubleheader.
NSU will play a game against the Bears on Saturday at 5 p.m. at the Coppin State Softball Field, followed by a doubleheader at noon on Sunday at Morgan State's Lois T. Murray Field. The twinbill with the Eagles on Tuesday gets going at 4 p.m. at the Parkwood Athletic Field. The doubleheader with N.C. Central was originally scheduled for Norfolk but was switched to Durham, N.C., after the Eagles played at NSU at the beginning of the year instead of at their home park.
At 8-1 in the MEAC, NSU currently sits in first place in the Northern Division ahead of 5-1 Hampton. The Spartans also own a 15-18 overall record after taking two of three from UMES last weekend at home.
Morgan State stands just 2-27 on the year and 0-6 in conference play, having dropped its last 15 games. The Eagles, meanwhile, carry a 2-31 overall mark, with one of those victories coming against the Spartans at the start of the year. The Eagles own a 14-game losing streak heading into this weekend's series with South Carolina State.
Scouting the Spartans
NSU is led by its offense, which is hitting a league-best .330 this season. The unquestioned leader of that offense continues to be sophomore Haley Ward. She is hitting .539 this year with 27 runs and 41 hits, including nine doubles, five triples and four homers to go with 27 RBI. She leads the team in hits, triple, home runs, slugging percentage (.947) and on-base percentage (.563) and is tied with sophomore Alina Moriarty in RBI.
Moriarty bats .361 with 28 runs, 10 doubles, one triple, three home runs and 27 RBI. Senior Gipsy Ramirez stands at .376 with 22 runs, six doubles, one homer and 22 RBI, while fellow senior Chelsea Davis has batted .410 in 18 games with 12 runs, two doubles, one triple, three homers and 14 RBI.
Other offensive threats include freshmen Whitney Williams (.358, 15 runs, five doubles, one triple, one homer, 15 RBI) and Heather Dunning (.320, 21 runs, one double, 11 RBI, eight stolen bases), as well as juniors Morgan Boyd (.303, 20 runs, 19 stolen bases), Melina Valles (.286, 10 runs, two doubles, one homer, 14 RBI, 19 walks) and Kathy Cortez (.281, 12 runs, six doubles, 16 RBI).
Junior Jamie Schulle lowered her ERA to 3.98 last weekend and now owns a 10-10 overall record, striking out 85 in 109.0 innings. Sophomore Liz Riley has pitched 90.1 innings and carries a 5-7 record with a 5.11 ERA.
National Rankings
NSU now ranks 13th in the nation in batting average as well as 19th in runs scored per game (6.27), 38th in doubles (1.48), 41st in triples (0.24) and 71st in slugging percentage (.442).
Haley Ward is the highest ranked individual, sitting eighth in triples with five. Alina Moriarty stands 21st with three sacrifice flies, and Morgan Boyd is 22nd with 0.61 stolen bases per game. Boyd is 55th in runs scored (0.97 per game) and Moriarty also stands 55th in doubles (0.3). Melina Valles ranks 76th in walks per game (0.63).
Ramirez, Others Moving Up the Record Book
With 142 career hits, Gipsy Ramirez is just four away from tying for eighth all-time at NSU. She is also currently tied for eighth with 22 career doubles, while Melina Valles is one walk away from tying for eighth in that category. Morgan Boyd needs six more stolen bases to move into a tie for 10th.
Jamie Schulle, meanwhile, now has struck out more batters (293) than every other NSU pitcher ever except for one, Angela Smith. She owns the top all-time mark in the Spartan program with 421. Schulle is on pace to finish her career with the most games started, appearances, and innings pitched in NSU history.
Morgan State
The Bears are hitting just .193 as a team and allow the opposition to bat at a .406 clip. Kimber Salvas leads all players with a .269 average with six runs, three doubles, two triples, one home run and seven RBI. Tiffany Rubin leads the Bears with six doubles, three homers and nine RBI, with Taylor McDougall contributing six doubles, one home run and nine RBI.
Jordan Eades has pitched the most innings for Morgan State, striking out 46 in 64.0 innings with an 8.44 ERA. Nicole Holguin and Shanice Crowder have also pitched throughout the year.
North Carolina Central
The Eagles hit .212 as a team, while their pitchers allow the opposition to bat .366 overall. Bianka Molina leads the way for N.C. Central with a .306 average, with Amber Kirkland the only other player above .250 at .286. London Germ has a team-leading 10 runs scored, while Camille Hampton paces the Eagles with two homers and nine RBI.
London Booker has started the majority of the games, throwing 117.1 innings and carding a 6.80 ERA. Molina has started nine games and owns a 9.92 ERA in 42.1 innings. Kayla McPeek has thrown just 20.1 innings but has posted a more-than-respectable 2.75 ERA.
Up Next
Following the games at North Carolina Central, the Spartans will return to the NSU Softball Field one last time for a three-game series with Delaware State next weekend. They will play two on April 20 beginning at 1 p.m. and a single game on April 21 at noon. The last game will also serve as Senior Day.
