NORFOLK, Va. – After two straight weekends at home, the Norfolk State baseball team takes to the road for its next two series, beginning with a four-game set at Coppin State this weekend. Due to the threat of inclement weather, the teams will not play Friday, and instead will play doubleheaders on Saturday and Sunday beginning at noon each day.
All games will be played at Joe Cannon Stadium in Hanover, Maryland.Â
The four MEAC baseball-playing teams have all played one series against each of its three counterparts. CSU (11-18 overall) holds a slim lead in the standings at 7-5, while Maryland Eastern Shore and Delaware State are both 6-6 and NSU (8-17) is 5-7.
NSU-CSU Short-Hops
- NSU junior outfielder Dionte Brown earned his second MEAC Player of the Week accolade of the year for this past week, hitting .429 with a homer and nine RBIs in the four-game series with DSU.
- Brown continues to be one of the most productive hitters for NSU. He leads the MEAC with four triples, is tied for second in the league with 23 RBIs, second in total bases with 46, and ranks sixth with 28 hits and eight steals.
- Infielder Raphy Rodriguez paces NSU with a .341 batting average, fourth-best in the conference.
- Nolan Manzer paces the Spartan staff in a pair of categories. The sophomore right hander boasts a 3.41 ERA, second-best among qualified pitchers in the conference. His .189 average against is best in the league.
- Coppin State enters the weekend having lost four of its last six games overall. The Eagles split a four-game series against UMES last week.
- The Eagles continue to lead the conference in many offensive categories, including runs scored (204), homers (17) and team batting (.280).
- CSU has four of the conference's top 10 batting leaders, paced by Sebastien Sarabia with a .337 average.
- Eagle lead-off batter Wellington Balsley heads up the conference leaderboard in runs scored (30) and stolen bases (15).
- MEAC teams play each other 12 times apiece this season and this marks the second of three series between these two teams. The Spartans and Eagles split four games with one another on March 25-26 in Norfolk.
- NSU won the first two games of the first series by one run apiece, getting a walk-off RBI single by pinch hitter Malcolm Perry in a 7-6 win on March 25 and a combined five-hitter from James Deloatch and Jackson Sanchez in a 2-1 win on March 26.
- The Eagles won the last two games in that series, 11-3 and 9-4.
