DURHAM, N.C. – North Carolina Central University travels to the panhandle of the Sunshine State hoping to see the sun break through and allow ample enough time for the Lady Eagles to have a chance at climbing the league standings with a three-game Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) softball series at Florida A&M University scheduled to be played on Saturday-Sunday, April 18-19.
*Saturday, April 18 at 11:00 AM/1:00 PMN.C. Central at Florida A&M
Tallahassee, Fla. (Lady Rattler Softball Complex)
NCCU AUDIO *Sunday, April 19 at 12:00 PMN.C. Central at Florida A&M
Tallahassee, Fla. (Lady Rattler Softball Complex)
NCCU AUDIO *With inclement weather forecasted for the gulf coast over the weekend, fans are encouraged to check the NCCU softball schedule on NCCUEaglePride.com for the most current game times if changes occur. Saturday's game times have already been moved up two hours and with a high probability of rain on Sunday, the traditional rain date of Monday may be used as well.
To keep up with all three games of the league series, listen to the game broadcast at NCCUEaglePride.com or the NCCU Sports Network mobile app, or follow @NCCUAthletics on Twitter.
North Carolina Central University Softball The Lady Eagles have dropped to the bottom of the MEAC Southern Division standings but NCCU has a chance to catch a couple teams and qualify for postseason competition with strong play in its final two league series. NCCU (15-22 Overall, 1-8 Conf.) is 1-10 in the month of April.
NCCU has been playing without injured leadoff hitter sophomore
Jenny Tracy, who batted .291 in the Lady Eagles first 26 games but has missed every game in April. The Maroon and Gray has four players batting over Tracy's high average in senior
Emerie Germ (.398), junior
Casey Hargett (.361), sophomore
Dominique Wilson (.330) and junior
Demiree Briones (.292).
The quartet has accounted for 18 of NCCU's 23 home runs. Germ ranks in the top-10 of the MEAC in batting average (.398), slugging percentage (.637), home runs (6) and RBI (24). Hargett slips into the top-10 in runs scored (25) and doubles (8).
Wilson, who leads the league with 93 strikeouts, has a team-best 3.99 ERA that has transformed into a 6-9 record from the pitcher's circle. Junior
London Booker (8-13) leads the Lady Eagles with eight wins and follows Wilson with a 5.81 ERA and 75 strikeouts.
NCCU has team .288 batting average, 5.04 ERA and a .928 fielding percentage.
The Lady Eagles split with Florida A&M last season winning the first game of the doubleheader, 3-2, before dropping the nightcap, 4-0. The third game of the 2014 series was cancelled due to rain.
Florida A&M University Softball The Lady Rattlers are 10-32 overall and 3-3 in the MEAC. FAMU went 2-1 against North Carolina A&T and 1-2 against Savannah State University in its first two league series. The Lady Rattlers will enter this weekend's series having only played one game in the past two weeks losing a 2-0 contest to Troy on Tuesday.
Florida A&M has committed the most errors out of MEAC softball programs, 83, and has the lowest team batting average of .225 but the Lady Rattlers can play small ball tied for the league lead in sacrifice bunts (24) and pacing the conference with 37 stolen bases.
The trio of Jessica Nathan (.299), Alyssa Weaver (.289) and Tashayla Irvis (.270) top FAMU offensively. Denise Anderson follows closely behind and has a team-high seven doubles and 19 RBI. Whitney Farris (.223) and Nathan highlight the Rattler runners with 18 and 10 stolen bases, respectively.
Kenya Pereira (7-12, 5.21 ERA) and Veronica Burse (3-15, 7.86 ERA) has accounted for all 10 pitching wins for FAMU.
