NORFOLK, Va. – Home for the third straight weekend to start the season, the Norfolk State softball team will take on Cleveland State this Friday and Saturday for a pair of doubleheaders at the NSU Softball Field.
 
Friday's twinbill will begin at 3 p.m., and Saturday's doubleheader will begin at 12 p.m. Live stats and live video will be available for both through NSU's website.
 
The Spartans have played their first 10 games of the season at home, and they bring a 4-6 record into Friday's contests. Following this weekend's action, and following the cancellation due to weather of the first games of the season at George Mason on Feb. 13-14, NSU will hit the road next week for the first time all season.
 
Cleveland State owns a 4-4 record on the year, although the Vikings have not played since Feb. 21 after their games last weekend were cancelled.
 
Fan Attendance Update
Due to State of Virginia restrictions according to the most recent Amendment to the Executive Order 67, only guests of the participating teams and a limited number of NSU students will be allowed to attend. NSU softball games are not open to the public under the current Amendment.
 
Player guests and students will need to stop by the check-in table at the NSU Softball Field, where they will receive a wrist band to attend the games. Spectators are required to wear a mask when on the NSU campus, observe social distance guidelines, and sit only in marked seats within their household pods.
 
Team Updates
The Spartans are coming off a weekend split with Youngstown State in which they defeated the Penguins twice on Saturday before YSU won both games on Sunday at the NSU Softball Field. Spartan pitchers limited the Penguins to just one unearned run on Saturday in winning 7-0 and 5-1. NSU hitters had four home runs on the day.
 
Youngstown State won 6-1 and 8-2 on Sunday, although five of those 14 runs were unearned. The Spartans hold a 2.37 team ERA on the year, with sophomores Alexis Robinson (1.62) and Cam Andersen (1.94) leading the way. A total of 21 of the 45 runs NSU has given up this year are unearned.
 
Despite having four players hitting above .300, NSU as a team owns a .238 average on the year. Senior Jade Dixon owns a team-best .360 average, while senior Tuli Iosefa is the team's top run producer with two home runs and nine RBI.
 
Similar to NSU, Cleveland State has started off hot in the circle but cool at the plate. The Vikings are hitting just .214 this season, having scored 20 runs in eight games. Sydney Bajusz (.357, six runs, five RBI) and Kiera Frascone (.321, five stolen bases) have carried the team on offense so far.
 
All three pitchers have ERAs below 2.50. Jenna Watts is tops on the team with a 1.54 ERA, while Taylor Betz has 18 strikeouts in 26.0 innings with a 2.42 ERA. She and Hannah Griffin (2.21 ERA, 20.1 innings) each have two wins on the year.
 
Goodbye Home
After this weekend's games, NSU will play at home just two more weekends the rest of the year. The Spartans will be on the road for four weekends in addition to a non-conference mid-week series. By finishing in the top 2 in the division, they would have the benefit of competing for a MEAC title on their home field in mid-May. This year's MEAC Championship will take place from May 13-15 at the NSU Softball Field.
 
Award Winners
One week after winning two of the three weekly MEAC awards, the first ones of the season, NSU grabbed another one this week. Robinson was named the MEAC Pitcher of the Week on Tuesday.
 
She went 1-1 with a 0.95 ERA in 14.2 innings last week, allowing just two earned runs while striking out 11. Included in there was a complete-game win over Youngstown State on Saturday, when she allowed just one unearned run and five hits with six strikeouts in a 5-1 victory.
 
Andersen (Pitcher of the Week) and Iosefa (Player of the Week) picked up awards from the league on Feb. 23.
 
Rare Gatherings
Norfolk State and Cleveland State have met twice in their all-time history, the first time in 2002 at a tournament at George Mason and the second in 2007 at a tournament at Longwood. The Vikings won both meetings by the same 9-0 score.
 
What's Next
NSU will head to Radford next week on March 10-11 for four more non-conference games before beginning MEAC play on March 13-14 at Morgan State.