Spartan Softball
Wednesday: NSU vs. Radford (DH), 1 p.m., NSU Softball Field
Live Video | Live Stats

Liberty Softball Classic
Thursday: NSU at Liberty, 5:30 p.m., Kamphuis Field at Liberty Softball Stadium
ESPN3/WatchESPN | Live Stats
Friday: NSU vs. Rhode Island, 12:15 p.m. | Live Stats
NSU vs. La Salle, 2:30 p.m. | Live Stats
Saturday: NSU vs. Sacred Heart, 10 a.m. | Live Stats
NSU vs. Rhode Island, 2:30 p.m. | Live Stats

NORFOLK, Va. – The Norfolk State softball team will begin a busy four-day stretch on Wednesday when the Spartans host Radford for a doubleheader beginning at 1 p.m. at the NSU Softball Field.
 
NSU will play seven games in four games beginning with the twinbill against the Highlanders. The Spartans will hit the road for the first time on Thursday when they play at Liberty at 5:30 p.m. in a game that will be broadcast on ESPN3 through the Liberty Flames Sports Network.
 
Norfolk State also plays Rhode Island and La Salle on Friday and Sacred Heart and Rhode Island on Saturday as part of the Liberty Softball Classic.
 
Live stats and live video for the doubleheader against Radford on Wednesday will be available. The contest against the Flames on Thursday will be shown through ESPN3 and the WatchESPN app. Live stats will also be available for all five NSU games in the tournament at Liberty through www.LibertyFlames.com and at the top of this story. The link is different for each contest.
 
The Spartans are coming off a weekend split of Rhode Island that pushed their record to 2-4 on the year. NSU won the first two games on Saturday, 4-3 and 8-4, before the Rams returned the favor on Sunday, 3-2 and 9-6. The latter took nine innings after Rhode Island tied the score with two runs in the top of the seventh.
 
Radford improved to 9-5 on the year after going 3-1 at the Seahawk Softball Showcase at UNC Wilmington. The Highlanders defeated the host Seahawks twice and split with Virginia. They also own a 15-2 win over MEAC school South Carolina State from earlier in the season. Radford has yet to play at home this season.
 
The Highlanders hit .309 as a team, led by Marissa Yow at .390. Yow also has team highs of seven doubles and 11 RBI with one home run in 14 games. Marissa Gagliano (.370, eight RBI, team-best eight stolen bases), Summer Robinson (.360, seven extra base hits, nine RBI) and Becky Mantel (.357, team-leading 12 runs, two home runs, 10 RBI) also put fear into opposing pitchers.
 
Lauren McIntyre owns a 1.80 ERA in three appearances, but it's Abby Morrow and Kayla Huffman who have done most of the work in the circle. Morrow has thrown 54.0 innings in 10 games with a 3.33 ERA and 27 strikeouts, while Huffman has made seven appearances and posted a 4.58 ERA in 17.2 innings of work.
 
MEAC Sweep
Norfolk State won all three MEAC weekly awards on Monday, with junior shortstop Mikki Haury picking up the MEAC Player of the Week honor. Sophomore Megan Przeslawski earned the Pitcher of the Week award, while Stephanie Davenport garnered Rookie of the Week honors.
 
Haury had the best weekend of any player, hitting 7-for-9 with four runs, three RBI, two doubles and a home run. She tallied the first four hit game of her career with a 4-for-5 effort in the last contest. Davenport batted 4-for-6 with four RBI, one stolen base and her first career homer. Przeslawski had a 2.10 ERA in 10 innings of work. She tied her career high with nine strikeouts in NSU's 8-4 win over Rhode Island on Saturday.
 
It marked the first MEAC weekly honor of any kind for all three players.
 
Home Cooking
NSU will play its first eight games of the season at home, concluding with Radford on Wednesday. Besides the Liberty tournament and the normal three MEAC three-game series, NSU's only other road games this year are doubleheaders at North Carolina A&T and Longwood. The Spartans currently have 23 of their 41 games on the season set to be played at home.
 
Series History
Radford has won all eight meetings with NSU over the years, although the teams have not met since early in the 2006 season in a tournament at Longwood.
 
The Spartans have never faced Sacred Heart and had never played Rhode Island until last weekend. NSU owns a 1-1 record against La Salle, having last played in 2014. The Spartans also last played Liberty in 2014, falling by a 5-1 score to drop to 0-15 all-time against the Flames.
 
Up Next
The Spartans will return from Liberty to host UMBC for a doubleheader next Tuesday beginning at 1 p.m. at the NSU Softball Field.