Sunday: NSU vs. Howard (DH), 1 p.m., NSU Softball Field
Monday: NSU vs. Howard, Noon, NSU Softball Field
Live Stats | Live Video

NORFOLK, Va. – The Norfolk State softball team will get the chance to stay home once again as the Spartans take on Howard beginning on Sunday for a three-game MEAC Northern Division series. Originally set to be played in Washington, D.C., poor field conditions forced the series to move to Norfolk.

The two teams will play a doubleheader at 1 p.m. on Sunday, followed by a single game on Monday at noon at the NSU Softball Field. Howard will still be the home team on the scorecard.

Live stats and live video will be available for the games against the Bison.

With the series now scheduled for home, NSU is now in the midst of a 12-game stretch in which the Spartans will not leave Norfolk.

NSU enters the weekend 9-13 overall after running through Rider and Coppin State last week. The three-game sweep of the Eagles also gave the Spartans a 3-0 MEAC record to start the year.

Howard comes in with a 1-16 overall record, including 0-3 in the conference after starting its MEAC season at UMES. The Bison's only win so far this year was a 2-1 triumph over George Washington in the first game of the season.

Norfolk State is led by sophomore Heather Dunning and senior Morgan Boyd at the top of the lineup, as the duo is hitting .471 and.451, respectively. Boyd has also scored 20 runs with 16 stolen bases, both team highs. Junior Robyn Mitchell owns a .455 average in just 22 at bats, with four homers and 16 RBI.

Junior Alina Moriarty also has 16 RBI this year with three doubles and five home runs, while freshman Kayla McNair has stepped up recently and is hitting .311 with four doubles, two homers and 11 RBI. Sophomore Whitney Williams is also in double figures with 11 RBI.

Senior Jamie Schulle owns a 7-5 record with a 2.55 ERA, striking out 48 in 79.2 innings of work. NSU's second starter, senior Stephanie Wheatley, has posted a 3.43 ERA with a 2-4 record in 51.0 innings.

Nearing the Record
Morgan Boyd's 15-for-19 week gave her a big push toward the school's all-time hits record. Boyd now has 171 career hits and needs nine more to pass record holder Brianeisha Eure.

Boyd has also posted nine straight hits heading into the weekend, leaving her four off the NCAA Division I record for consecutive hits at 13.

Jamie Schulle now needs 33 strikeouts to top the school record of 421 set by Angela Smith as well.

On Fire
NSU's 22 hits on Sunday versus Coppin State were the most by a Spartan team since they had 22 in game 1 of a doubleheader at UMES on April 27, 2011. The Spartans have had four straight games with double-digit hits.

NSU raised its team batting average by 50 points last week after going a collective 67-for-155 (.432) in those five contests. In each of the last five games, the Spartans have had more hits than the previous game.

Home Run Derby
Earlier this season NSU hit four homers in a game against Connecticut after having four in the previous 13 games to open the season. It also marked the first time a Spartan team had hit that many homers in a game since March 9, 2002.

Well, Norfolk State accomplished the feat again with four homers in game 2 against Coppin State on Saturday. The Spartans now have 20 on the season, just five away from tying the 2006 and '13 teams for the most in a season in NSU's Division I history. The school record for the fastpitch era, which began in 1986, is 35 set in 1997, NSU's last year as a D-II program.

Nationally Ranked
NSU's big week at the plate bumped the Spartans up in several offensive categories. NSU now ranks 44th in the nation in home runs per game with 0.91. They also rank in the top 100 in double plays per game (64th, 0.36), batting average (80th, .294) and slugging percentage (83rd, .437).

The Spartans moved up 132 spots in batting average, 126 in slugging percentage and 78 spots in home runs from the previous week.

In the individual categories, Morgan Boyd ranks the highest at 14th with 0.73 stolen bases per game. Heather Dunning sits 15th in batting average at .471, with Boyd 31st at .451. Dunning is also 61st in toughest to strikeout (once every 23.3 at bats) and 72nd in on-base percentage (.513).

Kathy Cortez stands 59th in toughest to strikeout (23.5), while Boyd also ranks 88th in runs scored (0.91).

Career Rankings
Morgan Boyd still ranks second in the nation in career stolen base percentage at .945. She is also 10th with 94 career stolen bases, while Heather Dunning stands 23rd with a career .394 average.

Jamie Schulle, meanwhile, sits 19th in pitching appearances (129), 20th in games started (97) and 32nd in innings pitched (573.2).

MEAC Rankings
NSU ranks first in the MEAC in home runs per game (0.91), second in batting average (.294), double plays per game (0.36), slugging percentage (.437) and earned run average (3.60) and fourth in scoring (4.23) and win-loss percentage (.409).

Heather Dunning and Morgan Boyd rank first and third, respectively, in the conference in batting average, while Dunning also sits second in on-base percentage.

Series Info.
NSU leads the all-time series with Howard, 13-11. The Spartans have won the last four meetings with the Bison, including last year's three-game sweep when NSU outscored them 34-2.

About Howard
The Bison are hitting just .194 as a team this year, with Anasia Stinson the team's leading hitter at .342 with five runs scored. No other player is above .250. Imani Ballard has two of the team's four home runs with a team-best eight RBI. Howard has a collective 11.45 team ERA as well.

Doubleheader Rescheduled
NSU's doubleheader with North Carolina Central that was rained out last week has been rescheduled. It will now take place on Saturday, April 26 at 1 p.m. at the NSU Softball Field.

Up Next
NSU will host George Mason next Wednesday at 3 p.m. at the NSU Softball Field for a non-conference doubleheader.