Norfolk State Softball

Friday	NSU at Hampton (ESPNU)	3 p.m.	Live Stats	ESPN3
Saturday	NSU at Hampton	1 p.m.	Live Stats
	NSU at Hampton	3 p.m.	Live Stats

NORFOLK, Va. – It is coming down to the end for the top three teams in the MEAC Northern Division. The final weekend of play will decide who takes home the regular season crown and who finishes second and third heading into next weekend's MEAC tournament.
 
The Spartans, tied for first with Delaware State at 11-4, will conclude the regular season at Hampton on Friday and Saturday. Friday's 3 p.m. contest from the Lady Pirates Softball Stadium will be shown live on ESPNU, with Thad Anderson and Danielle Lawrie on the call. Saturday's doubleheader will begin in its normal 1 p.m. time slot.
 
In a case of déjà vu from two seasons ago, NSU and Hampton will conclude the regular season with a series against each other at Hampton, with the first game broadcast to a national audience. And just like two years ago, the regular season title in the North is on the line, albeit this time with DSU also in the mix.
 
Live stats will be available for all three games this weekend here. Fans can also watch the game live on ESPN3.
 
Hampton sits a half game back of NSU and DSU at 10-4 in the conference. Hampton owns the head-to-head tiebreaker with the Hornets thanks to its three game sweep earlier this year, while DSU owns the head-to-head tiebreaker with NSU thanks to its three game sweep of the Spartans earlier this month.
 
Barring a make-up game, though, the Pirates will finish with one less MEAC game this year after its third game against Morgan State was rained out.
 
Going into Friday's matchup, the Spartans own an overall record of 12-24, while Hampton sits at 18-22 overall.
 
In addition to the NSU-Hampton series, DSU hosts UMES and Morgan State will travel to Coppin State this weekend. Howard (8-10) is currently holding down fourth place in the Northern Division and thus the division's last spot in the MEAC tournament. Morgan State (6-8) could jump ahead of Howard with a strong showing this weekend.
 
Savannah State (10-1) pulled ahead last weekend for the No. 1 spot in the South. Bethune-Cookman (8-3), Florida A&M (7-4) and North Carolina A&T (5-7) round out the top 4 in the division.
 
Regular Season Title
NSU has never won a MEAC regular season title. The closest the Spartans have come to doing so was finishing second on a pair of occasions. In 2007, NSU went 13-1 and finished second overall behind Hampton in a year when the MEAC did not have divisions. The Spartans also finished second to the Pirates in 2013 in the North at 15-3.
 
Winning MEAC Season
NSU will finish with its fourth straight above-.500 conference record this year after doing so just once in 14 seasons in the MEAC from 1998-2011. Over the last four years, all in the Northern Division, NSU has gone 50-19 in MEAC play and finished either second (2013) or third (2012, '14) in the division.
 
Heating Up
After being one-hit by UMES on April 3, NSU has batted .343 in its last 11 conference games with a 2.99 ERA (compared to .276 and 4.35 overall for the season). League opponents during that 11-game stretch are hitting .285 with a 6.14 ERA (compared to .324 and 3.48 overall for the year).
 
Inching Closer
Alina Moriarty is now three hits away from surpassing the school record of 205 set by Morgan Boyd from 2011-14. Moriarty also needs six more at bats and 10 more total bases to become No. 1 in those categories as well.
 
Riley Named MEAC Pitcher of the Week
Senior pitcher Liz Riley was named the MEAC Pitcher of the Week on Monday after allowing just one unearned run in 14 innings in a pair of victories over Coppin State last week. She gave up five hits and struck out 12 in a pair of seven-inning decisions, including a 7-0 victory in game 2 on April 23, NSU's first shutout in almost two years.
 
Riley has given up just one earned run in her last 20 innings pitched and 13 earned runs in the last 44 innings (2.07 ERA) dating back to the UMES series in April.
 
All-Time Series
Hampton has the edge in the all-time series with NSU, 64-49-1. The Pirates have won seven of the past nine meetings, all coming in the last two years. Hampton took two of three from NSU in 2013 and swept the Spartans last year in the regular season meetings. The Pirates also knocked NSU out of the MEAC tournament both seasons, including in 2013 after NSU defeated Hampton 10-3 to force the if-necessary game in the MEAC Championship final.
 
Prior to 2013, NSU had won six of the previous nine meetings against Hampton.
 
ESPNU Appearance
This will mark the 10th straight season ESPNU has broadcast a MEAC softball game, and the fourth time NSU has appeared on the telecast. NSU hosted Florida A&M on May 5, 2007, at the NSU Softball Field, and then hosted Hampton the next year on April 30, 2008. Two years ago on May 4, 2013, NSU's contest at Hampton was also shown live on ESPNU. The Spartans are 1-2 in television games.
 
Up Next
NSU will play in the first round of the MEAC tournament on May 7 at either 10 a.m. or 1:30 p.m. at the Ormond Beach Sports Complex.