NORFOLK, Va. – With just two weekends left in MEAC play, the Norfolk State softball team will play its last road games for the regular season this weekend at Delaware State. The Spartans currently sit in first place in the Northern Division in their quest for their first ever division title.
 
Because Sunday is Easter, the series will be played on Friday and Saturday. The teams will play two games on Friday beginning at 9:30 a.m., and one contest on Saturday starting at 2 p.m. All three games will have live stats through Delaware State's website.

NSU only has six games left in the regular season, including the last MEAC series at home against Howard on April 27 and 28.
 
The Spartans own an 8-1 record in the Northern Division, while Delaware State is 3-6. NSU is coming off a sweep of Coppin State at home last weekend, one in which the Spartans outscored the Eagles 12-2. NSU won 3-0 on Sunday for its seventh shutout of the season and its fourth win in a row.
 
DSU has dropped its last 10 games, including two on Tuesday at home against Drexel by a combined 20-4 score and three games at Morgan State in its last MEAC action on April 6 and 7. The Hornets were shut out in all three games against the Bears. Only twice in their 10-game losing streak have the Hornets scored at least four runs.
 
The Spartans sit 21-15 overall after the sweep of CSU, the most wins in the league. NSU's pitching staff has been on point lately too. Shannon Buffington has allowed just two earned runs over her last 14.1 innings, Skylar Swain has given up just one earned run over her last 14.1 innings, and Hunter Halford has surrendered no earned runs in her last 10.2 innings.
 
MEAC Standings
At 8-1, NSU sits two games ahead of Morgan State (6-3) for first place in the division. Howard is currently third at 4-4, and Delaware State and Coppin State are tied at 3-6. Maryland Eastern Shore is last at 2-6.
 
In the South, Florida A&M (9-0) and Bethune-Cookman (8-1) lead the way, with North Carolina A&T (5-4) and North Carolina Central (4-5) up next. FAMU is also 18-23 overall as they chase the Spartans for the best overall record in the league.
 
Title Chasing
NSU is attempting to claim its first ever division title since joining the MEAC prior to the 1998 season. The Spartans finished second in the Northern Division in 2013, '15 and '16, and they were also second overall in 2007 at 13-1 when the league did not have divisions.
 
They are already guaranteed a winning MEAC record for the seventh time in the last eight seasons, after doing so just once in the previous 14 seasons. The Spartans also need just one more win to be guaranteed to finish .500 or better overall. They have only done that three times since joining Division I, in 1998 (24-15), 2007 (26-25) and 2013 (31-22).
 
National Rankings
Thanks to its recent surge, allowing just three runs in the last four games, NSU now stands 65^th in the nation in ERA at 2.77. The Spartans also rank 11^th in stolen bases per game at 2.25 and in the top 100 in double plays, shutouts, strikeout-to-walk ratio and win-loss percentage.
 
Jazzmaine Hammond (10^th, 0.76) and Shelby DesChamps (42^nd, 0.53) both rank in the top 50 in stolen bases per game. DesChamps is also 51^st in runs per game at 0.97.
 
MEAC Rankings
The Spartans lead the league in ERA at 2.77, with the No. 2 team in Bethune-Cookman at 3.52 and No. 3 Florida A&M at 4.38. Halford leads the league with a 2.37 ERA, and Swain is second at 2.71. Halford also ranks second in wins (11) and third in strikeouts (82).
 
NSU is second in batting average at .271 but first in home runs (19) and stolen bases (81). On an individual level, DesChamps leads the MEAC in hits (48) and is second in runs (35) and total bases (62). Also leading the league is Tuli Iosefa in home runs with seven and Hammond in stolen bases with 26. Kylee Lopez finds herself second in RBI (30) as well.
 
Series History
DSU has won 13 of the last 17 meetings, including two out of three last year and the most recent meeting, a 4-3 win for the Hornets earlier this year. That game came on Feb. 15 as part of the Lancer Launch at Longwood. Delaware State leads the all-time series, 30-25.