NORFOLK, Va. – Norfolk State softball coach
James Inzana released the Spartans' 2022 schedule on Wednesday. The 56-game slate includes a trio of early-season home tournaments as well as non-conference trips to James Madison, Virginia Tech and N.C. State.
The Spartans' first 19 games all occur in the Hampton Roads area. NSU co-hosts three multi-team tournaments with Hampton University: the NSU-HU Classic (Feb. 11-13), the Battle at the Bay (Feb. 25-27) and Spartan-Pirate Clash (March 4-6). All Spartan games in the three events will take place at the NSU Softball Field. The first weekend features three days' worth of games involving NSU, Hartford and Hampton.
The second weekend of play, Feb. 19-20, the Spartans make the trip across the Hampton Roads Bridge Tunnel to participate in the Pirates' Hampton Classic. The event features NSU, Hampton, Central Connecticut State and St. Bonaventure.
The following two weekends have the Spartans back at home for tournament play. The Battle at the Bay features games with Wagner, Youngstown State and Penn from Feb. 25-27 and the Spartan-Pirate Clash (March 4-6) includes matchups with Rider, UMass Lowell, Bryant and Drexel.
NSU leaves Hampton Roads for the first time for eight games in a three-city road trip during spring break. The road trip starts with a doubleheader on March 9 at Virginia Tech, which advanced to the NCAA Super Regionals last year. The following day the Spartans face 2021 College World Series participant James Madison in Harrisonburg.
NSU then leaves the state for the first time to participate in Marshall University's Thundering Herd Invitational March 11-13. The event includes games with Fairfield, Western Carolina and the hosts from Marshall.
The Spartans face Hampton in a home doubleheader on March 16 before conference play begins later that week. This season's MEAC slate includes a three-game series against each of the other seven league teams, for a total of 21 conference games. The Spartans travel to Howard (March 19-20), Coppin State (April 2-3), South Carolina State (April 9-10) and Maryland Eastern Shore (April 30-May 1). NSU hosts series with Morgan State (March 26-27), North Carolina Central (April 15-16) and Delaware State (April 23-24).
Rounding out NSU's non-conference schedule are mid-week doubleheaders with Virginia State (Home, March 30), at Hampton (April 20) and a doubleheader at N.C. State (April 27).
The MEAC Tournament will be held at the NSU Softball Field for the second straight year. This season's tournament is May 11-14.
