This Weekend at the NSU Softball FieldNORFOLK, Va. – Following several days away from competition, the Norfolk State softball team will have a busy weekend at home with four games in three days at the NSU Softball Field.
The Spartans take on Howard at 6 p.m. on Friday to close out a three-game series that actually began on March 31. Following that evening affair, NSU will also welcome Morgan State to town Saturday and Sunday for a normal three-game MEAC series.
Action starts at 1 p.m. on Saturday with a doubleheader against the Bears, and the two teams will finish things out with a single game at noon on Sunday.
Live stats and a
live video feed will be available for all four games.
NSU currently sits in first place in the MEAC Northern Division ahead of Delaware State (4-1) and Hampton (4-2). Howard (0-8) and Morgan State (0-5) are still winless in the conference this season.
The Spartans fell to UMES in the first game of the series last weekend by a 6-3 score before rebounding to win the next two, 5-2 and 7-4. NSU sits 13-16 overall this year, with Howard at 1-25 and Morgan State at 3-14.
Dunning Sets Hit Streak RecordWith a 0-for-4 day against UMES last Sunday,
Heather Dunning saw her 21-game hit streak come to an end. It did mark the longest hit streak by an NSU player in the Division I era and is believed to be the second-longest in program history behind Onisha Cook's 33-game streak between the 1994 and '95 seasons.
Williams, McNair Earn MEAC Weekly HonorsWhitney Williams and
Kayla McNair scooped up two of the three weekly MEAC honors on Monday, as Williams earned the Player of the Week award and McNair garnered Rookie of the Week accolades. Williams hit .538 (14-of-26) with 11 runs, three doubles, three home runs and nine RBI last week. McNair batted .542 (13-of-24) with nine runs, three home runs and 10 RBI.
Record ChasingNSU now needs six more home runs to surpass the program's fastpitch record of 35 set in 1997. Senior pitcher
Jamie Schulle, meanwhile, is 20 strikeouts away from passing Angela Smith for that individual program record as well.
NCAA RankingsMorgan Boyd currently ranks seventh in the nation in batting at .480 as well as ninth in stolen bases per game at 0.79. She also stands in the top 60 in runs per game (0.97, 55th) and on-base percentage (.514, 57th).
Heather Dunning sits in 39th place nationally with a .429 average and 59th in toughest-to-strikeout (19.6 at bats).
As a team, NSU is now in the top 100 in double plays per game (23rd, 0.45), batting average (29th, .314), home runs per game (30th, 1.03), slugging percentage (46th, .472) and scoring (66th, 5.21).
In the career categories, Boyd ranks third in stolen base percentage (.944) and eighth in stolen bases (101) among active Division I players.
The Hit ParadeNSU has double-digit hits in nine of the last 11 games, and in the last 12 games the Spartans are hitting a collective .394.
Morgan Boyd owns a .652 average (30-of-46) in those 12 games as well and is riding a 14-game hit streak. Teammate
Alina Moriarty is right behind her with a 12-game hit streak.
Kayla McNair (.514, 19-for-37, 10 games) and
Whitney Williams (.516, 16-for-31, eight games) are both hitting above .500 in their last several contests.
Series Info.NSU now leads Howard 15-11 in the all-time series, which includes wins in the last six meetings. The Spartans also lead Morgan State 22-10, having won seven straight over the Bears.
About HowardSince beating George Washington in the first game of the year, the Bison have dropped 25 in a row. They were swept by Coppin State last weekend. Anasia Stinson leads the way for Howard with a .320 average, and Jenny Ly is second on the team with a .303 mark. Imani Ballard leads the way with nine RBI, and Alex Flynn (87.2 innings, 9.03 ERA) has pitched more than half of the team's total innings.
About Morgan StateMorgan State dropped a pair to Delaware State on Sunday, running its losing streak to 10. Claudette Smith leads the team with a .378 average, with Shareday Christina second at .354 with a team-leading 14 runs scored. Zina Constancia is batting .327 with a team-best 16 RBI. Opponents, though, are hitting .416 against the Bears, who have a collective 8.94 team ERA.
Up NextNSU's last two MEAC weekends of the year will be against the other two teams competing for the top three spots in the division. Up first will be a trip to Delaware State from April 18-19.
