2015 MEAC Tournament

Thursday	NSU vs. Florida A&M	1:30 p.m.	Ormond Beach Sports Complex
	NSU vs. North Carolina A&T	4:30 p.m.	Ormond Beach Sports Complex
* Rest of schedule based on Thursday results

Live Stats | Tournament Bracket

ORMOND BEACH, Fla. – The No. 2 seed from the Northern Division, the Norfolk State softball team begins its quest toward a MEAC title on Thursday at 1:30 p.m. in the first round of the conference tournament. NSU will face Florida A&M, the No. 3 seed from the South, at the Ormond Beach Sports Complex.
 
With a win, NSU will play at 7 p.m. on Thursday in the next round. With a loss, the Spartans will turn right around and compete at 4:30 p.m. in the loser's bracket. A win in either round will guarantee the Spartans at least one game on Friday in the double-elimination tournament.
 
Live stats will be available here.
 
It will mark the second straight year NSU will meet FAMU in the first game of the tournament and the fourth straight season overall playing the Rattlers in the conference championship. Last year, the No. 2 seed Rattlers had just one hit but came away with a 1-0 victory over the No. 3 seed Spartans.
 
This will also mark the eighth straight season the tournament will be held in Ormond Beach.
 
The Spartans own a 14-25 overall record this season and finished 13-5 in conference play. NSU clinched the second seed from the North after defeating Hampton 2-1 on Sunday. The Rattlers went 7-7 in the MEAC and 14-36 overall, finishing third in the South after dropping their last three games to Bethune-Cookman last weekend.
 
MEAC Tournament Opening Round
Delaware State (14-4) and Savannah State (13-1) finished first in the Northern and Southern Divisions, respectively, and will play in the opening round on Thursday at 10 a.m. DSU faces No. 4 seed North Carolina A&T (6-9) from the South, while SSU takes on the No. 4 seed from the North in Howard (8-10).
 
Bethune-Cookman (11-3), the No. 2 seed from the South, plays North No. 3 Hampton (11-6) at 1:30 p.m. on the field opposite of NSU-FAMU. From there, the losers of those four games will play at 4:30 with the winners playing at 7 p.m.
 
Recent Tournament History
NSU is making its fifth straight tournament appearance and the ninth in the past 10 years. In three of the past four years, the Spartans went 1-2 in the tournament, with the only exception coming in 2013 when the Spartans advanced to the if-necessary game of the championship round.
 
Only twice in the past 10 seasons has NSU won at least two games in the tournament. Both times, NSU finished as the championship runner-up, in the aforementioned 2013 season as well as in 2008. The Spartans have been either the No. 3 seed (2011 from the South, 2012 and '14 from the North) or the No. 2 seed (2013, '15 from the North) each of the last five years.
 
Last year after falling to FAMU, NSU knocked off North Carolina A&T 6-1 before getting shut out by Hampton, 8-0.
 
Moriarty Named All-MEAC
Senior outfielder Alina Moriarty was the only NSU player this year to get named to the all-conference team. She earned second-team honors this year after being named first team in 2013 and second team in '14, both times at second base.
 
She became NSU's second-ever three-time all-MEAC honoree since the program went to Division I prior to the 1998 season. The Spartans had seven players earn All-CIAA honors at least three times from 1984-97, but only one, Ursel Bruton (1984-87) did it four times.
 
One Hit Away
Moriarty is currently tied with Morgan Boyd for the all-time hits record at NSU at 205. Already the career leader in doubles (39), Moriarty also needs two more at bats to surpass Brianeisha Eure's career record of 595 and eight more total bases to pass Bruton's record of 316.
 
Conference History
NSU finished with its fourth straight better-than-.500 conference record this season after doing so just once in the previous 14 years in the MEAC (a 13-1 mark in 2007). The Spartans have gone 52-20 in conference play over the last four years.
 
MEAC Rankings
Whitney Williams ranks sixth in slugging (.667), tied for sixth in home runs (7) and 10^th in batting average (.367). Moriarty stands fourth in triples (3) and 10^th in slugging (.578) and total bases (67). Sommer Di Fulgo also ranks third in walks with 21.
 
In the circle, Liz Riley currently sits second in ERA (3.76), seventh in strikeouts (91). Marrisa Marrero ranks tied for seventh in wins with eight, and Megan Przeslawski ranks sixth in ERA (4.01).
 
Florida A&M Series History
The Rattlers own a 46-13 edge in the all-time series with NSU. After getting swept in the three-game series in 2008 (when both teams played in the Southern Division), Florida A&M has won nine of the past 12 meetings. FAMU swept the Spartans in 2009 and took two of three in the regular season meetings in 2010 and '11.
 
The Rattlers knocked NSU out of the tournament in 2012 in a 10-inning affair, while NSU returned the favor in '13 thanks to a game-ending hit in the bottom of the seventh. FAMU won last year's opening round game as well.
 
About FAMU
The Rattlers swept South Carolina State this year and also took two of three from North Carolina A&T. They also started the year 0-12 and 2-20 before finishing the regular season with three losses at Bethune-Cookman. Pitcher Kenya Pereira was the school's lone representative on the All-MEAC team, earning second-team honors. She went 11-13 with a 3.78 ERA in the regular season, striking out 106 in 168.1 innings of work.
 
Veronica Burse split time in the starter's spot with Pereira and currently holds a 3-18 record with a 5.72 ERA. The Rattlers are only hitting .242 as a team, with no player over .300 on the year. Tashay Irvis and Jessica Nathan are both hitting .299, with Nathan the last of FAMU's three players in double figures for RBI with 17.
 
Denise Anderson is hitting .280 with eight doubles, three homers and a team-best 34 RBI. Amber Fullwood has chipped in with a .264 average, 24 runs, seven doubles, five homers and 24 RBI. Opponents have a 2.17 ERA against the Rattlers.