NORFOLK, Va. – The Norfolk State baseball team hosts its first MEAC Northern Division series of the season this weekend when Delaware State visits Marty L. Miller Field for four games.

The teams are slated to play a single game at 3 p.m. Thursday, a doubleheader starting at noon Friday, and another single game at noon Saturday.

Both NSU (7-15 overall, 3-1 MEAC) and DSU (4-10, 2-2) have played one conference series each so far and it came against the same opponent: Coppin State. The Hornets split a four-game set against the Eagles two weekends ago, while NSU won three of four contests at Coppin last Saturday.

The Spartans have won three of their last four games and four of the last six. NSU did drop a 17-5 midweek decision at Richmond on Tuesday, but continued its recent power surge at the plate. The Spartans have hit at least one homer in three straight games and have a total of eight round-trippers in their last five contests. Outfielder/first baseman Mason Velasquez has three homers in that span and catcher Ty Hanchey has two. Both went deep, as did second baseman Alsander Womack, in NSU's loss at Richmond Tuesday.

NSU has also displayed its speed this year, leading the MEAC and ranking third in the country with 59 stolen bases. Outfielder Dionte Brown leads the MEAC and ranks seventh nationally with 12 stolen bases. Womack and Hanchey (nine apiece) are tied for second among conference players in thefts.

DSU has also shown a prolific offense in the early going this year. The Hornets lead the MEAC with a .295 team batting average. Four DSU regulars are batting over .350, led by conference leading hitter John Weglarz at .449. He and Trey Paige have also combined for five homers and 29 RBIs.

The Hornets enter this weekend, however, coming off three losses at George Washington where the Colonial pitching staff limited DSU to a total of just four runs.

Live stats and a live video stream for all four games are available through NSUSpartans.com.