NORFOLK, Va. – This weekend's baseball showdown between the MEAC Northern Division's co-leaders, Norfolk State and Coppin State, has been pushed back a day due to the threat of inclement weather in the Hampton Roads region. The series at
Marty L. Miller Field will now start with a single game at 3 p.m. Saturday, and the teams will play a noon doubleheader on Sunday.
Both teams enter the weekend with 5-1 records against MEAC North opponents. Both teams swept a three-game series from Delaware State, and both won two of three from Maryland Eastern Shore over the first two weeks of divisional play.
The Spartans are 7-15 overall entering the weekend and are coming off a 20-7 midweek loss to North Carolina Central in a non-conference contest. NSU got two hits each from
Justin Hayes,
Alsander Womack and
Aaron Robinson, with Womack and Robinson both driving in a run and notching one double each. Those three players all rank among the top seven in the conference in batting, with Hayes tied for the league lead with Coppin State's Derek Lohr at .377. Hayes is also second among MEAC players with a .479 on-base percentage.
Robinson, the two-time reigning MEAC Rookie of the Week, checks in at third in batting at .377 (percentage points behind the other two), while Womack is seventh at .349. Womack also is tied for first in the MEAC with nine doubles. Robinson (.551) and Womack (.518) rank fifth and sixth, respectively, in slugging percentage. They have combined to win the MEAC Rookie of the Week award in five of the season's six weeks.
NSU right handed pitchers
Chase Anderson (3-2, 3.67 ERA) and
Jonathan Mahoney (3-3, 3.18) are tied for third in the MEAC in wins. Each has won his last three starts. Anderson ranks second in the conference in innings (41.2) and Mahoney is close behind in third (39.2).
The Eagles (6-13-1) also lost a mid-week game this week, falling by an 11-3 score at Navy on Wednesday. CSU has four of its regulars hitting at least .290 this year, with Allen Saar at .395, Lohr at .377, Eric Crossman at .333 and Nazier McIlwain checking in at .293. McIlwain has a team-high 19 RBIs, one homer and is tied for Crossman for the team-lead with four doubles.
CSU has been led on the mound by right hander Jahmon Taylor, who tops the pitching staff with a 3.54 ERA. He pitched a seven-inning complete-game shutout last week against Delaware State to earn MEAC Co-Pitcher of the Week honors.
Live stats and live video for all three games will be available through the links at the top of the page.
