NORFOLK, Va. – The Norfolk State softball team will embark on a stretch in which it will play 15 games in 10 days, and it begins this Friday at the Winthrop Invitational in South Carolina.
 
The Spartans will play games on eight of those 10 days over the course of two tournaments and some spring break week doubleheaders. This weekend at Winthrop, they take on  Sacred Heart and Morehead State on Friday at 1 p.m. and 3 p.m., respectively, followed by games against Eastern Kentucky (3 p.m.) and Winthrop (5 p.m.) on Saturday.
 
Monday will mark the first of three straight doubleheaders. Norfolk State will first host Appalachian State for twinbills on Monday and Tuesday, both starting at 1 p.m. at NSU Softball Field. The Spartans then make their way down to Greensboro to face North Carolina A&T on Wednesday at 1 p.m. for a pair of contests.
 
Then on Friday, March 9, the Spartans play their last set of games before the start of MEAC play. They will take on host College of Charleston (4:45 p.m.) and Charleston Southern (7 p.m.) to start the Holy City Showdown as they return to the state of South Carolina. NSU also faces Winthrop (4:45 p.m.) and Furman (7 p.m.) on Saturday, March 10, and Charleston Southern (2:30 p.m.) again on Sunday, March 11.
 
This weekend, live stats will only be available for NSU's contest against Winthrop. Norfolk State will have live stats and live video available for both of its doubleheaders against Appalachian State. In addition, live stats will also be available for all five games of the Holy City Showdown at College of Charleston as well.
 
NSU enters the weekend sitting at 8-3 overall after taking three games from South Carolina State last weekend and splitting a doubleheader with Davis & Elkins as part of the Spartan Classic at home.
 
Morehead State (8-4), Sacred Heart (3-2) and Eastern Kentucky (7-5) all carry winning records into this weekend, while host Winthrop owns a 4-5 mark. The same also goes for the following weekend. Aside from Winthrop, College of Charleston (7-5), Charleston Southern (13-3) and Furman (12-3) all own winning records.
 
NSU's two opponents in between have not fared as well. Appalachian State sits just 4-10 on the year, and North Carolina A&T carries a 2-8 record into the weekend. Appalachian State did beat Morehead State 15-8 earlier this season, however.
 
In addition, Charleston Southern shut out both Eastern Kentucky (8-0) and N.C. A&T (6-0), and Furman topped Winthrop 2-1.
 
Long Game
NSU and Davis & Elkins engaged in a heated battle in game 1 on Sunday. Neither team scored through the first 10 innings, despite the fact each team placed a runner on second in their half of the inning starting in the eighth. The Senators finally broke through in the 11^th for an eventual 3-1 win.
 
It tied for the longest game in Spartan history. They also played an 11-inning game on May, 8, 2010 against Winston-Salem State, an 8-7 victory for Norfolk State.
 
Hot Start
Several players have gotten off to quick starts this year. Junior Shelby DesChamps is hitting .581 to begin the year, with junior Kylee Lopez second on the team at .412. Lopez and sophomore Meaghan Barfield have already hit as many home runs as they did all last year (4) and have combined for 30 RBI so far.
 
As a team, the Spartans are hitting .338. NSU is already 73 percent of the way towards its total production from last year in terms of runs scored. They also have 17 more stolen bases than they had all of last season as well.
 
In the circle, freshman Skylar Swain has posted a 1.72 ERA in 20.1 innings, owning a 4-1 record with 19 strikeouts. Despite a 2-2 mark, junior Hunter Halford is slightly better with a 1.71 ERA in 28.2 innings. Much of that is owed to the 11-inning contest in which she pitched all 11 innings but was only charged with one earned run. She joined Alyssa Velazquez (against Winston-Salem State) as the only NSU pitchers ever to go 11 innings in one game.
 
DesChamps was named this week's MEAC Player of the Week, and Swain earned the Rookie of the Week award.
 
National Leaderboard
As a team, NSU ranks fourth in the nation in scoring at 7.73 runs per game. They also sit 16^th in average (.338), 12^th in both slugging (.553) and stolen bases per game (2.36), and 18^th in doubles per game (1.82) and home runs per game (1.18).
 
DesChamps ranks fourth in on-base percentage (.667), fifth in hitting (.581), ninth in runs (1.36) and 12^th in stolen bases (0.91). Barfield sits 16^th in RBI per game (1.45), and Lopez ranks in the top 40 in RBI (36^th, 1.27), runs (38^th, 1.09) and slugging (39^th, .882).
 
Series History
NSU has never faced Eastern Kentucky, Winthrop, College of Charleston or Furman. NSU has faced some of the other schools only once or twice, including Morehead State (0-1), Sacred Heart (1-0), Appalachian State (1-1) and Charleston Southern (1-1).
 
The Spartans have faced North Carolina A&T, a member of the MEAC Southern Division, plenty of times. The Aggies lead that all-time series, 42-24. They have also won the last four meetings, with NSU's last win coming in the 2014 MEAC tournament. The Spartans last swept a doubleheader from the Aggies in 2013.