NORFOLK, Va. – Another round of home cooking for the Norfolk State softball team awaits this upcoming weekend. The Spartans will host games for the third straight week as part of the three-day Pirate Invitational from Friday through Sunday at the NSU Softball Field.
 
Altogether, seven teams will play a total of 12 games on NSU's home field between Friday and Sunday, five of those games involving the Spartans. Action gets underway at 10 a.m. each day, with five games on tap for both Friday and Saturday and two more on Sunday.
 
Six states will be represented this weekend, including the state of Virginia, as Binghamton, Delaware, Drexel, Saint Peter's, UMBC and Wagner come to the Hampton Roads area. Those six other schools will also play games at Hampton throughout the weekend as part of the tournament officially run by HU.
 
Live stats will be available for every game of the tournament at NSU. In addition, live video for each game at NSU is available through the department's video streaming link.
 
Below is the complete schedule of games at both NSU and Hampton:
At NSU
Friday
3 p.m.             Wagner vs. Drexel
5 p.m.             Norfolk State vs. Binghamton
Saturday
10 a.m.           Drexel vs. UMBC
12 p.m.           Drexel vs. Saint Peter's
2 p.m.             Delaware vs. UMBC
4 p.m.             Norfolk State vs. Saint Peter's
6 p.m.             Norfolk State vs. Delaware
Sunday
10 a.m.           Binghamton vs. Delaware
12 p.m.           Norfolk State vs. Drexel
2 p.m.             Norfolk State vs. Drexel
 
At Hampton
Friday
Games Cancelled
Saturday
10 a.m.           Wagner vs. Binghamton
12 p.m.           Hampton vs. Binghamton
2 p.m.             Hampton vs. Wagner
Sunday
10 a.m.           Saint Peter's vs. UMBC
12 p.m.           Hampton vs. Wagner
2 p.m.             Hampton vs. Delaware
 
NSU went 3-2 last weekend, sweeping two games from Fairleigh Dickinson while also topping Morehead State. The Spartans also had the lead in both games against Marshall before the Thundering Herd came rolling back. NSU now owns a 5-8 record on the season.
 
Of all the teams at NSU this weekend, Delaware is the only one with a winning record. The Blue Hens stand 14-4 on the season, and all four pitchers have sub-3.00 ERAs. Sarah Piening owns a 5-0 record with a team-best 2.19 ERA. Not to be outdone, the offense is hitting .303 as a team. Brooke Glanden (.436, 23 RBI), Brittney Mendoza (.389, seven doubles, 19 RBI) and Chayanna Gallardo (.360, nine doubles, 15 RBI) are just three of the many names to look out for at the plate.
 
Drexel has played just five games on the year, and despite a team 3.50 ERA, the Dragons are 1-4 so far with their only win an 8-0 shutout of Columbia. They have just seven extra-base hits – no home runs – with Linda Rush (7-for-15, four RBI) leading the way on offense. Brooklyn Daly and Devon Grippe have combined to pitch 24 innings with an ERA just above 2.00.
 
Like Drexel, Wagner has also played just five games this season. The Seahawks' 2-3 record includes wins over Wright State and Cleveland State. Kaila Smith has hit three home runs with six RBI, and Bianca Worthy is 8-for-15 this season. Wagner, however, owns an 11.70 team ERA.
 
Saint Peter's went 0-4 last weekend out in California to start its 2020 campaign. The Peacocks still have to play Maryland Eastern Shore on Wednesday before arriving in Norfolk. Alina Guevara and Courtney Fraher (3-for-10 each) had the top hitting performances for Saint Peter's, who hit just .160 in those four games. They also gave up around seven runs per game.
 
UMBC (3-6) also has games on Wednesday, at home against Coppin State, before this weekend gets underway. So far this year, the Retrievers are hitting .269, with Maddie Daigneau (.458) and Meghan Dempsey (.375) pacing the offense. Despite Courtney Coppersmith's 0.26 ERA in 27 innings of work, the team has a 7.76 ERA. UMBC's other four pitchers have given up 69 runs in 28 innings.
 
Binghamton stand 1-10 on the season, with its only win a 2-1 victory over Georgia Southern last weekend. Stephanie Ragusa (.400) and Tessa Nuss (.324) have hit well so far this year, but as a team Binghamton is hitting just .199. Rayn Gibson owns a 4.85 ERA in 26 innings, but the team's ERA is 7.16 against a difficult early schedule that includes Texas A&M, Minnesota and Auburn.
 
NSU has faced all six schools throughout the years. Delaware (15-4), Drexel (5-1), UMBC (8-1) and Saint Peter's (5-0) have all gotten the better of the Spartans over the years, although NSU and Saint Peter's have not played since 2002.
 
Wagner won the only meeting with NSU so far, back in 2014 at NSU. The Spartans have won two out of the three games with Binghamton, although again the last meeting came more than a decade ago in 2009.
 
Following this weekend, NSU will head to North Carolina State and Maryland Eastern Shore during the middle of next week for non-conference doubleheaders before traveling to Mount St. Mary's for a tournament on March 14-15.