NORFOLK, Va. – After a weekend away the Norfolk State softball team returns home to host a trio of MEAC contests against Morgan State this weekend. The Spartans start off with a double header on Saturday starting at 1 p.m. from the NSU Softball Field. NSU will wrap up the series with the Bears on Sunday with a single game at 12 p.m.

The Spartans are coming off a 5-1 week, including opening MEAC play with a 2-1 series win at Howard in Washington. The Spartans started the week with a double-header sweep of Hampton picking up a 6-5 8 inning win over the Lady Pirates before getting their second shut-out win of the season, 5-0 in the afternoon cap.

Against the Bison, NSU opened with a 12-5 win before Howard won a 9-1 game in five innings. In the rubber game, the Spartans got their own run-rule game in a 16-5 win to claim the series.

After splitting a double header with George Mason, MSU opened MEAC play with a three-game sweep of Coppin State. The Bears opened with a 5-3 and 5-0 win over the Eagles before closing out the series with a 7-6 win. In a mid-week pair of games, the Bears split a pair of games at home against Sienna.

NSU vs. MSU On Deck

• For the second time in three weeks, freshman Kenna Higa was named the MEAC Rookie of the Week. It was her third MEAC honor of the season as she had previously been named the MEAC Player of the Week. She hit .375 over the five games with six hits with a pair of doubles.
• Higa leads the Spartans in hitting percentage for the season with a .365. She has hit seven doubles and three home runs while slugging .619, which leads the MEAC. Her OPS (on base + slugging) percentage also leads with a 1.100.
• Tuli Iosefa leads the Spartans and the MEAC with 24 RBIs on the season. Her .342 ranks third on the team, but her four home runs is second best in the MEAC. She is second on the team with a 1.028 OPS, one of three Spartans at or above 1.000.
• Imani Moore is batting .360 for the Spartans and leads the team with 27 hits on the season. She currently has three doubles and one triple among her hits.
• Alison Guckin leads the MEAC and ranks sixth in all of Division I in both stolen (22) and steals per game (.85).
• Alexis Robinson's nine wins on the season is three more than she had in total a year ago. She has thrown on complete game and is second on the team in strikeouts with 39. She has been named the MEAC Pitcher of the Week earlier this season. Her 2.69 ERA is also a team best. Robinson has thrown the most innings, 52.0
• Joana Vallejo leads NSU in strikeouts with 49 while having an even record at 3-3 after picking up two wins last week. She also picked up a save in the 4-2 win over Bryant earlier this season.
• Through the first 28 games of the season, the Spartans have an identical 15-13 mark. However, last season it was not until mid-April before NSU had played 28 games.
• Madison Bolyea leads the Bears with a .389 batting average. As a team MSU is hitting .258 with a .339 on base percentage.
• Tayven Rousseau is second on the team in batting average (.370) but leads the team in OPS (1.107). She shares the team lead in RBIs with Melissa Paz with 12.
• Anaya Hunte has a team-best 6-2 record along with a save. She has thrown four complete games with 42 strikeouts.
• After starting the season 0-4, the Bears have won five of their last six, including their sweep of Coppin State to open MEAC play. MSU is currently 11-9 on the season.