DURHAM, N.C. – The North Carolina Central University softball team will face arguably its toughest opponent of the season yet when the Lady Eagles play a three-game, non-conference set at Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) member University of Louisville over the weekend.
All three games at Ulmer Stadium will be carried live on the NCCU Sports Network, with Mike Wood on air with the play-by-play. Louisville will also provide a video stream and live stats for the series and fans can also get updates on Twitter by following @NCCUAthletics.
GAME INFO
Saturday, April 16 at 3:00/5:00 p.m.
N.C. Central at Louisville
Ulmer Stadium | Louisville, Ky.
AUDIO |
VIDEO |
STATS
Sunday, April 17 at 12:00 p.m.
N.C. Central at Louisville
Ulmer Stadium | Louisville, Ky.
AUDIO |
VIDEO |
STATS
N.C. Central Softball
The Lady Eagles snapped a 13-game losing streak with a 7-2 win in the nightcap of its non-conference doubleheader at Norfolk State University on Wednesday. The victory was the first road win for NCCU (4-35 Overall).
Seniors
Markell Wylie and
Jenny Tracy top NCCU's lineup with averages of .308 and .303. Wylie has scored a team-high 18 runs and Tracy leads the Lady Eagles with nine extra-base hits, featuring five doubles and a team-best four home runs.
A pair of pitchers also swing quality bats for the Maroon and Gray. Junior
Dominique Wilson is batting .289 and has supplied NCCU with 18 RBI. Senior
London Booker has taken advantage of recent at bats in the lineup, going 8 for 23 (.348) so far with half of those base knocks being for extra bases (2 doubles, 2 home runs).
Sophomore
Danyelle Noland (.248) is riding a seven-game hit streak and paces the Lady Eagle base runners with five stolen bases. Senior
Casey Hargett (.257) has seven doubles on her final season.
Booker (3-14, 5.98 ERA) picked up her team-high third win on Wednesday and leads NCCU with 70 strikeouts in 86.2 innings. Wilson (0-8, 6.79 ERA), junior
Jennifer Allison (1-12, 5.55 ERA) and freshman
Breanna Carter (0-1, 2.05 ERA) may also pitch for the Lady Eagles this weekend.
NCCU will be playing Louisville for the first time under the leadership of fifth-year head coach
Theresa Stephens. The Lady Eagles will be playing a team receiving votes in a national top-25 poll for the third time this season (Charlotte and USC Upstate).
Louisville Softball
The Cardinals, who are receiving votes in the current ESPN.com/USA Softball Collegiate Top 25 Poll, are coming off a 12-2 win at Indiana on Tuesday. Louisville is 29-7 overall and was nationally ranked earlier in the season (as high as No. 25).
Junior Maryssa Becker is a two-time All-ACC selection and leads the Cardinals with .433 average, 12 doubles and 48 RBI. Rookie Megan Hensley brings a big bat to the Louisville lineup, batting .369 with 42 RBI and launching 11 home runs. Speedy sophomore Sidney Melton adds a .351 average with 13 stolen bases and 34 runs scored.
Becker and Hensley also shine from the pitcher's circle, accounting for all 27 wins. Becker is 15-6 with a 1.99 ERA and 119 strikeouts while Hensley is 12-3 with a 2.37 ERA and 58 strikeouts.
Louisville has a balanced team ranking 17th in NCAA Division I with 6.67 runs per game and 19th in the nation with a 2.12 team ERA for a whopping +137 run differential (240-103).
