NORFOLK, Va. - Head Coach Heidi Cavallo announced the 2013 Norfolk State softball schedule on Tuesday, and the Spartans will host a pair of early-season tournaments in addition to the regular slate of conference games.
NSU will serve as the home team for the Spartan Clash Feb. 23-24 and the Spartan Classic March 2-3 and play nine of the first 11 games of the season at home. The Spartans will take part in 22 games all-together at the NSU Softball Field out of the 47-game slate in 2013.
After opening the season at North Carolina Central Feb. 20, the Spartans will welcome Monmouth, Fairleigh Dickinson and Delaware State to the NSU campus for the Spartan Clash Feb. 23-24. A week later, Delaware, Army and Marist will stop by for the Spartan Classic March 2-3. In both tournaments, each team will play four games over the course of the weekend. Four games are scheduled each day, and play gets underway at 9 a.m. each time.
Prior to the start of the Spartan Classic, NSU will also play Delaware on March 1 in a 4 p.m. contest.
From there the Spartans hit the road for three weeks, beginning on March 6 with a doubleheader at Savannah State during NSU's spring break week. The Spartans will play at the Camel Stampede Invitational March 8-9 for another four-game tournament, facing Drexel, Morehead State, Northern Kentucky and host Campbell.
After a mid-week twinbill at North Carolina A&T on March 13, NSU will play in one more tournament, the Delaware Invitational from March 15-17. The Spartans will play four games against the likes of Delaware, Hartford, St. Francis (Pa.) and Villanova over the three-day span.
Conference play begins March 23-24 at Coppin State, and then NSU will return to its home field for eight straight. Howard makes the trek to Norfolk on March 29-30, followed by a non-conference doubleheader against Longwood April 4 at 4 p.m. The following weekend on April 6-7, the Spartans will host MEAC foe UMES.
NSU heads north to play at Morgan State April 13-14, and then comes back to host North Carolina Central for a pair of non-conference games April 16 at 4 p.m. The Spartans finish out their home schedule with Delaware State April 20-21. All home conference weekends start at 1 p.m. on Saturday with a pair of games followed by a single game on Sunday at noon.
The regular season comes to a close with a doubleheader at George Mason on April 24 followed by the last conference weekend of the year at Hampton May 4-5. The MEAC tournament will once again be held at the Ormond Beach Sports Complex in Florida on May 9-11.
For the complete story, visit www.nsuspartans.com.