Saturday
NSU vs. North Carolina Central (DH)
1 p.m., NSU Softball Field
Live Stats | Live Video

NORFOLK, Va. – The Norfolk State softball team will take a step back from conference play but still face a MEAC foe when the Spartans host North Carolina Central this Saturday for a doubleheader at 1 p.m. at the NSU Softball Field.

The contests will not count towards either team's MEAC record, as NSU sits in the Northern Division while NCCU competes in the South. Saturday will be a rain date for a twinbill that was originally scheduled on March 18.

Live stats and a live video feed will be available for both games. The Spartans enter the weekend 18-20 overall, while the Eagles own a 7-32 mark this season.

The Spartans will look to get their offense back on track, as they've scored just five runs over the last five games. The Eagles are looking to bounce back after a 7-2 loss to Elon earlier in the week.

Updated Standings
After dropping two of three last weekend to Delaware State, NSU fell into second place in the North, one game behind the Hornets in the loss column. The Spartans caught a break, though, when DSU lost to Morgan State earlier this week.

At 12-3, NSU is in a tight battle for first place with both Delaware State and Hampton, who each sit at 9-3. Because DSU owns the tiebreaker, NSU would need to finish with fewer losses than the Hornets and also win at least two of three from Hampton next weekend in order to take home first place for the regular season.

Hampton plays at Coppin State, while Delaware State will head to Howard this weekend. The Hornets are on the road again at UMES the same weekend that the Spartans host the Pirates.

More Records Falling
Earlier this season Morgan Boyd became NSU's all-time hits leader, and on Tuesday at Longwood senior Jamie Schulle overtook one of the most glamorous pitching records. She surpassed Angela Smith for the all-time strikeouts mark at NSU. Smith had 421 from 1994-97, while Schulle now has 422.

NSU still needs just two more home runs to pass the school's fastpitch record of 35 for a season.

Rankings
NSU ranks sixth in the nation in double plays per game (0.53). The Spartans also rank in the top 100 in batting average (29th, .315), home runs per game (48th, 0.94), slugging percentage (58th, .461), scoring (70th, 5.17) and earned run average (94th, 3.16).

Individually, Morgan Boyd ranks the highest at 14th in stolen bases per game (0.69). She also sits 26th in average (.438) and 62nd in runs (0.94). Heather Dunning ranks 64th in average (.415), while Kayla McNair is just inside the top 100 in slugging at 98th (.674).

Boyd also ranks second in stolen base percentage (.945) for her career as well as 10th in stolen bases (103). Jamie Schulle sits 17th in both pitching appearances (141) and games started (109) for a career.

Hanging Tough
Earlier in the week, the Spartans fell to Longwood in a doubleheader on the road. The Lancers have been a successful program recently, evidenced by their trip to the NCAA tournament last season and a 40-win season several years ago. In six games over the past three seasons, though, NSU has hung tough with them. The Lancers have won by margins of 4-3, 2-0, 2-1 and 3-1 during that six-game span.

Series Info.
NSU owns a 33-6 edge in the all-time series with North Carolina Central. The Eagles won the first game of a doubleheader at the beginning of the 2013 season, but NSU has won 12 of the last 13 and 21 of 23 since the teams started playing regularly back in 2008.

About North Carolina Central
The Eagles are led by a pair of Germs, as sisters Emerie Germ and London Germ lead the team in hitting at .345 and .317, respectively. Emerie Germ has a team-leading 17 RBI, and London Germ has scored a team-best 19 runs. De'Onna Smith is hitting .300 with five home runs and 14 RBI.

London Booker has struck out 91 in 131.1 innings and has five of the team's seven wins with a 4.26 ERA. Dominique Wilson has started 15 games and carries a 5.12 ERA with 64 strikeouts in 91.2 innings of work.

Up Next
NSU will hold its annual Senior Day on May 3 when the Spartans host Hampton for the final regular season games of the year. The doubleheader begins at 1 p.m.