Winthrop/Adidas Invitational
Friday: NSU vs. Eastern Kentucky, CANCELED.; NSU vs. Wright State, CANCELED
Saturday: NSU vs. Marist, 1 p.m.; NSU vs. Youngstown State, 5 p.m.
Sunday: NSU vs. Connecticut, 11 a.m.; NSU vs. Youngstown State, 1 p.m.

NORFOLK, Va. – After two weeks of home tournament action, the Norfolk State softball team will take to the road to participate in the Winthrop/Adidas Invitational Friday through Sunday at Terry Field.

Inclement weather forced the postponement of NSU's two games on Friday against Eastern Kentucky and Wright State.

On Saturday, NSU will open the tournament against Marist and Youngstown State at 1 and 5 p.m., respectively. The Spartans wrap up the tournament with two games on Sunday, at 11 a.m. against Connecticut and 1 p.m. against Youngstown State. Winthrop's home field setup allows for two games to be play at once throughout the tournament.

Live stats will be unavailable for NSU's games.

The Spartans enter the weekend with a 2-9 overall record, with victories over Yale and UMBC in each of the previous two weekends at home. Sophomore Heather Dunning leads the way with a .433 batting average, thanks to a 7-of-9 performance in two games last Saturday. Junior Alina Moriarty is hitting .361 with four extra-base hits and a team-leading seven RBI.

Senior Morgan Boyd is hitting .314 and is the only other player above .250 for a Spartan team that bats .222 overall. In the circle, senior Jamie Schulle has both wins and owns a 2.86 ERA in 29.1 innings of work. Senior Stephanie Wheatley has pitched 27.1 innings and carries a 3.33 ERA.

Scouting the Opponents
Eastern Kentucky owns a 7-7 record on the year, which includes two wins over fellow MEAC school Florida A&M. EKU only hits .240 as a team, with Krislyn Campos leading the way (.310, eight runs, four doubles). Katie Tackett has hit .293 with four homers and 11 RBI. The Colonels own a 2.89 team ERA, with Leanna Pittsenbarger leading the way with a 1.66 ERA and 75 strikeouts in 50.2 innings.

Wright State carries a 1-10 record into the weekend thanks to a fairly difficult early-season schedule. The Raiders hit just .148 as a team, with Libby Pfeffer tops on the team with a .200 average. Becka Peterson has hit both of the team's home runs with five RBI. Montana Wear has posted a 5.33 ERA while making six starts, including in WSU's only victory over IUPUI.

Marist went 2-3 in their opening weekend of the season last week at the Mercer Bear Classic, with both victories coming over MEAC opponent North Carolina Central. Jordynn Barrera belted two homers and five RBI in the opening games of the year, with Haley Birnbaum going 5-for-10 in all four games. Melanie White struck out eight and allowed just one earned run in eight innings, and Paige Lewis pitched 10 innings and finished with a 2.10 ERA.

Youngstown State has opened the season 4-4, including wins over N.C. Central and Virginia in the opening weekend of the year. Miranda Castiglione owns a .556 average with nine runs, two home runs and five RBI. Kayla Haslett (.400, one homer, four RBI) and Haley Knight (.316, five RBI) have also hit well this year for the Penguins. In the circle, Casey Crozier has struck out 30 in 24 innings and owns a 3-1 record with a 2.04 ERA.

UConn stands 1-9 this year, having allowed one earned run per inning. Lauren Duggan has pitched the best out of UConn's four starters, picking up the only win to go with a 4.69 ERA. Valerie Sadowl has hit .560 in all 10 games with five doubles, two home runs and seven RBI. Emily O'Donnell, at .323, is the only other player above even .260 on the year. Audrey Grinnell has also hit a pair of home runs with seven RBI.

All-Time Series
NSU has never faced Eastern Kentucky, Connecticut or Wright State. The Spartans dropped their only meeting with Youngstown State back in 2002, while Marist leads the all-time series with NSU, 3-2. Last year the two teams split their meetings in the Spartan Classic, with Marist winning 11-2 before the Spartans bounced back with an 8-6 victory.

Big Weekends
Heather Dunning went 10-for-16 last weekend to raise her average to above .400 on the year. Alina Moriarty, meanwhile, hit 7-for-14 to get her average above .350. Moriarty had six RBI and hit a pair of homers in those four games and currently owns a seven-game hitting streak.

Liz Riley, meanwhile, had a pair of extra base hits in three games and knocked in five runs.

Up Next
Following the last regular season tournament this weekend, NSU will return home to host North Carolina A&T for a doubleheader March 14 at 4 p.m.