Norfolk State SoftballNORFOLK, Va. – The Norfolk State softball team will welcome Longwood to town this Thursday for a non-conference doubleheader at the NSU Softball Field. Action gets underway at 5 p.m. in NSU's second-to-last home series of the regular season.
Live stats and a
live video feed will be available for both games.
The Spartans, who sit in first place in the MEAC Northern Division, will get one final tune-up before hosting Delaware State this weekend for the last of NSU's contests on its home field this year. NSU has won five in a row and currently sits 9-17 overall.
Longwood, meanwhile, sat at 20-21 heading into Wednesday's doubleheader at Virginia. The Lancers own a deceiving overall record thanks to their difficult non-conference schedule. They have won 10 of their last 11 Big South games to improve to 14-4 in conference play. Their only other matchup this season against a MEAC opponent came at the start of the season when the Lancers defeated Delaware State, 9-0.
Home StretchNSU will end up playing 14 home games this season. All 14 will come during a 19-game span that will close after this weekend against Delaware State. Following that three-game series, the Spartans only have a three-game MEAC series at Coppin State and Hampton left in addition to a doubleheader at George Mason.
Series HistoryNSU has never beaten Longwood, having dropped all 21 meetings in their history against each other. Four of the last six games have been decided by two runs or fewer. This will mark the eighth straight year the two programs have met for a pair of games during the season.
About LongwoodLongwood is led on offense by one of the best players in the nation, senior Megan Baltzell. She paces the way with a .374 average, 47 runs, seven doubles, 19 home runs, 46 RBI, 40 walks and 12 stolen bases. Justina Augustine ranks second on the team with a .309 average to go with 30 runs, eight doubles, six home runs and 16 RBI.
The Lancers also get offense rom Chelsea Sciacca (.267, six homers, 27 RBI), Casey Lifsey (.244, 23 RBI) and Emily Murphy (.230, seven homers, 15 RBI). In the circle, Elizabeth McCarthy has done a good portion of the work, posting a 16-10 record with a 3.50 ERA. She has struck out 144 in 154.0 innings pitched.
Up NextSaturday's doubleheader with Delaware State will also double as Senior Day. The Spartans will honor their four departing players prior to the 1 p.m. start time.
Weekend UpdateStop by the athletics website on Friday for more information about this weekend's series, including details for all of the Senior Day activities.
