Norfolk State SoftballNORFOLK, Va. – After opening MEAC play with a series sweep this weekend, the Norfolk State softball team will get back on the field on Tuesday to host Drexel for a mid-week non-conference doubleheader. The Spartans and Dragons will get going at 2 p.m. at the NSU Softball Field.
NSU won all three games over Coppin State on Friday and Saturday in the first conference games of the season. That improved NSU's overall mark to 8-10. The Dragons, meanwhile, played 10 games in five days at the Rebel Games in Orlando, finishing up on Sunday before heading home. Drexel split those games to move to 10-8 on the season.
Live stats and a
live video feed will be available through the Norfolk State website.
NSU raised its team average to .260 after the Coppin State series and dropped its team ERA to 3.57, the lowest in the conference by 0.70 earned runs per game. At 8-10, the Spartans have the second-best record in the league (by winning percentage) next to North Carolina A&T (10-12).
Doubling UpIn Saturday's game 1 win over Coppin State, senior
Megan Dunning went 3-for-3 with three doubles. She became the sixth player in program history to hit three doubles in a game and the first in four seasons after Haley Ward accomplished the feat at North Carolina Central in 2012.
Award SeasonNSU took two of the three weekly MEAC awards on Monday, and the Spartans have now won six in the past three weeks. On Monday, junior
Hannah Haustein was named the MEAC co-Player of the Week, while
Stephanie Davenport took home the MEAC Rookie of the Week award.
Walk the LineWith more than half of the season still on the docket, NSU has already drawn 76 walks this season. The Spartans are nearly halfway to the school's Division I record of 158 set in 1998.
About DrexelDrexel has become very familiar with MEAC opponents, having played nine games so far against schools from the league. The Dragons went 7-2 in those games, with losses to Savannah State (6-0) and Florida A&M (4-0) along with wins over Hampton (three times), South Carolina State (twice) and North Carolina A&T and Florida A&M (once each).
The Dragons have been led by Kimberly Chan, who has 20 hits in 51 at bats (.392 average). Baeley Reed has scored a team-best 15 runs while hitting .309, while Paula Ueno (.352, 9 runs, 11 RBI) and Ellen Scott (.316, nine runs, 11 RBI) have been big run producers.
Taylor L. Lee owns the best record on the team at 4-3 with a 3.70 ERA in 41.1 innings of work. Tara Konopka has struck out 47 in 41.2 innings while also allowing 33 walks. She has made the most appearances at nine and owns a 4-3 record with a 5.31 ERA.
Series HistoryDrexel has won two of the three all-time meetings with NSU, including wins in 1999 (6-2) and 2013 (5-3). Last year at the Blue and Gold Tournament at North Carolina A&T, the Spartans defeated the Dragons 11-6 in five innings.
Up NextNSU will play a Friday-Saturday MEAC series this upcoming weekend due to Easter Sunday. The Spartans will travel to Delaware State and play two games on Friday at 1 p.m. and a single game on Saturday at noon.
