DURHAM, N.C. – North Carolina Central will be in the national spotlight this weekend as the Eagles face top-ranked Tennessee and nationally-ranked Penn State at the Tennessee Invitational at Sherri Parker Lee Stadium in Knoxville, Tenn.

The NCCU-Tennessee game, set for Saturday at 5:30 p.m., will be livestreamed on SEC Network+. The Eagles face Penn State twice – Friday at 12:30 p.m. and Sunday at 10 a.m. The Nittany Lions (13-2 overall) are ranked 24^th in the Softball America poll and 25^th in the D1Softball Top 25 poll.

The Eagles open against Appalachian State (11-2 overall) on Friday at 10 a.m., and both teams meet again Saturday at the same time. Live stats for the tournament will be available on nccueaglepride.com.

This is the fourth straight weekend tournament on the road for the Eagles (1-12 overall), who are playing a top-ranked team in the country for the first time. This weekend will mark the eighth time NCCU will tangle against a Power Four program this season.

Tennessee (14-0 overall) has sat atop the national softball polls for four weeks and is off to its best start since sporting a 14-0 record in 2014. NCCU will square off against Tennessee and Penn State for the first time and is 3-20 versus Appalachian State since 2008.

The Eagles are led offensively by Tyler Suttles with a .370 batting average and Izabella Chavez with a .368 batting average. Kendal Daniels has four RBIs and Suttles has scored four runs.

The Penn State pitching staff ranks 16^th nationally with a 2.10 earned run average, led by Brevyn Kellepouris with a 0.71 ERA. Sophia Knight leads the Tennessee offense with a .543 batting average and National Player of the Year contender Karlyn Pickens boasts a team-high 42 strikeouts and a .22 ERA. Makayla McClain of Appalachian State has a .426 batting average with seven home runs and 18 RBIs.

Below is the Tennessee Invitational schedule:

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 27
10:00 a.m. – N.C. Central vs. App State
12:30 p.m. – Penn State vs. N.C. Central
3:00 p.m. – Tennessee vs. App State
5:30 p.m. – Tennessee vs. Penn State

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 28
10:00 a.m. – App State vs. N.C. Central
12:30 p.m. – Penn State vs. App State
3:00 p.m. – Tennessee vs. Penn State
5:30 p.m. – Tennessee vs. N.C. Central

SUNDAY, MARCH 1
10:00 a.m. – N.C. Central vs. Penn State
12:30 p.m. – Tennessee vs. App State

For more information on NCCU Athletics, visit NCCUEaglePride.com.