Norfolk State Baseball
Saturday: NSU vs. UMES (DH), 1 p.m., Marty L. Miller Field
Sunday: NSU vs. UMES, 12 p.m., Marty L. Miller Field
Live Stats | Live Video (Same links for all 3 games)

NORFOLK, Va. – After nearly a month on the road, the Norfolk State baseball team will finally get to return to the confines of Marty L. Miller Field this weekend as the Spartans host the University of Maryland Eastern Shore. The squads play a doubleheader on Saturday at 1 p.m., and a single game on Sunday beginning at noon.

The Spartans, who have played their last 11 regular-season games on the road, now play 12 straight at home beginning Saturday. NSU enters the weekend 13-16 overall and in first place with a 7-4 mark in MEAC Northern Division play after taking two of three games at Delaware State last week. DSU (6-5 MEAC) is in second place in the division, followed by Coppin State (6-6) and UMES (4-8).

NSU last played at Marty L. Miller Field on March 20, dropping a conference doubleheader to the Hornets to start divisional play. Since then, NSU has won three straight road MEAC series, taking seven of nine conference games since late March. That streak of success began at UMES on March 25-26, as the Spartans swept the first series against the Hawks in Princess Anne, Md. NSU won the first two games by scores of 11-2 and 20-7, then rallied from a 6-2, final-inning deficit to take the series finale, 7-6 on March 26.

Senior DH/first baseman Kyle Vaas was named MEAC Co-Player of the Week earlier this week after batting 4-for-7 with two doubles, a triple and four RBI in a doubleheader sweep of Delaware State last Sunday. Vaas paces NSU with a .368 batting average and a .632 slugging percentage. His 23 RBI are second on the team behind sophomore outfielder Syeed Mahdi's 27. Junior outfielder Denathan Dukes has a five-game hitting streak intact and now leads the MEAC with 15 stolen bases in 15 attempts. He has one stolen base in seven of his last eight games.

On the mound, senior left hander Matt Outman has won his last three starts, the most recent being a three-hit shutout at DSU last Sunday that earned him the MEAC Pitcher of the Week award. He is 4-2 on the season with a 3.71 ERA.

UMES (9-22 overall) is coming off a series at Coppin State where the Hawks dropped three of four games to fall to 4-8 in the MEAC North. Right hander Toby Hoskins earned the one win in that series with 6.1 solid innings in game 1 of Monday's doubleheader.

At the plate, the Hawks are led by senior infielder Mike Escanilla's .310 batting average. Fellow senior infielder Connor Breslin is hitting .294 with 15 RBI.

On Saturday, the NSU baseball boosters will have a limited number of desert camouflage NSU baseball hats for sale at the concession stand at the front entrance to the field. The hats are $20 and available on a first-come, first-served basis.