Norfolk State Softball
Thursday: Rider at NSU (DH), 2 p.m., NSU Softball Field
Saturday: Coppin State at NSU (DH), 1 p.m., NSU Softball Field
Sunday: Coppin State at NSU, Noon, NSU Softball Field
Live Video | Live Stats

NORFOLK, Va. – The Norfolk State softball team will play a non-conference doubleheader against Rider on Thursday before opening up MEAC play this weekend against Coppin State.

NSU and Rider will get things going at 2 p.m. on Thursday out at the NSU Softball Field. The Spartans will then turn right around and welcome Coppin State to town as the 2014 MEAC season gets underway. The Spartans and Eagles will play a pair on Saturday at 1 p.m., followed by a single game at noon on Sunday.

Both live stats and live video will be available for all of the games.

NSU enters Thursday's action 4-13 overall after its most recent games, a doubleheader split with North Carolina A&T last Friday. Rider owned a 2-7 record on the year prior to their Wednesday doubleheader at Charleston Southern. Coppin State, meanwhile, owned a 3-8 overall record prior to their Wednesday twinbill at Mount St. Mary's.

Sophomore Heather Dunning paces the team with a .423 average in 52 at bats, with junior Alina Moriarty and senior Morgan Boyd bot sitting at .327. Moriarty has also scored eight runs with five homers and 12 RBI. Sophomore Whitney Williams has knocked in 10 runs for a team hitting .244 on the year.

In the circle, senior Jamie Schulle owns a 2.47 ERA and all four of the team's wins. The Spartans own a collective 3.59 team ERA, but opponent pitchers have combined for a 1.97 ERA.

Nationally Ranked
Alina Moriarty is the highest ranked NSU player in this year's NCAA stats, as she sits 45th in home runs per game at 0.29. Other players in the top 100 include Morgan Boyd (67th, 0.47 stolen bases), Heather Dunning (71st, .423 batting average) and Kathy Cortez (81st, toughest to strikeout at 21.5 at bats).

Boyd, though, sits second in career records for NCAA Division I with a .945 stolen base percentage. Only Bri Chiusano of Coastal Carolina, at .962, has a better career stolen base percentage. Boyd also ranks 11th with 86 career stolen bases.

Jamie Schulle, meanwhile, sits 21st in career pitching appearances (124), 23rd in games started (93) and 36th in innings pitched (550.2).

About Rider
The Broncs have had a tough run of things early on, with two straight tournaments cancelled before heading out this week to Charleston, S.C. There, Rider lost to College of Charleston twice on Saturday and to Charleston Southern once on Tuesday before Wednesday's twinbill. Rider owns wins over Coppin State (6-1) and North Carolina A&T (8-7) but has also fallen to UMES twice (15-6, 3-0) and Morgan State (7-3).

Among the regular lineup, Amanda Irving led them in the early going with a .321 average, with three other players above the .275 mark. Dana Sensi was one of those players at .276, and she also had a team-leading six RBI in the first nine games. Of the three pitchers used most often, Kaitlyn Kallert led them all with a 5.25 ERA. Rider owns a 6.24 team ERA, compared to 2.61 for opponents.

About Coppin State
Of their three wins, the Eagles own two of them over Bowie State. CSU's third win this season is a 6-5, eight-inning victory over Mount St. Mary's last Friday. Several players have hit well, including Candice Van Horn, who has recorded 14 runs with four doubles, four home runs and nine RBI with a .444 average.

Samantha Denlinger, at .478, and Alyssa Barker, at .520, have also hit well this year. The Eagles own a .300 team average on the year. Opponents, though, have hit .379. Although Barker carries a 3.84 ERA in the circle, the team's ERA sits at 6.83.

Series Info.
The Spartans own a 1-2 record all-time against Rider, having last played in 2010 when the Broncs won 7-2 at Norfolk State. NSU also has a sizeable edge against Coppin State in that series, 38-10. The Spartans have won five in a row, including last year's sweep in the regular season by scores of 10-2, 15-3, and 10-2. NSU has also knocked Coppin State out of the MEAC tournament each of the last two years.

NSU Postpones DH with NCCU
The Norfolk State-North Carolina Central doubleheader scheduled for Tuesday of this week was postponed due to inclement weather. A makeup date is being worked on for some point later in the year.

Up Next
NSU will hit the road on March 29-30 for a three-game series at Howard in the second MEAC weekend of the year.