WEEKLY NOTES

MEAC softball begins week eight as conference play has started for both divisions. North Carolina A&T State and South Carolina State in the south are the final two teams who have yet to start league play as both teams meet on Monday.

Florida A&M opened MEAC play with a sweep over North Carolina Central while Bethune-Cookman took 2-of-3 from Savannah State.

The Hampton Lady Pirates and the Florida A&M Lady Rattlers were predicted to win the MEAC softball Northern and Southern Divisions, respectively. Delaware State was picked to finish second behind the Lady Pirates in a tight race as they received 10 first-place votes and 153 total points. Pollsters predicted another showdown between FAMU and rival Bethune-Cookman as the Wildcats were picked second after receiving 10 first-place votes and 130 total points.

Four teams have won more than 10 games as Bethune-Cookman leads the way with 16 wins while Hampton, Norfolk State and Florida A&M follow with 13, 12 and 10 wins, respectively.

Hampton’s DaSha Hill continues to lead the league in batting average with a .487 clip and is third with 37 hits and tied for second with two triples. Hill’s stolen base streak came to an end as she’s now 30-of-32 in that cat- egory. Bethune-Cookman’s Mariah Davis has quietly rose to the top of the leaderboard with a MEAC-best 39 hits, 23 runs and 25 stolen bases. Preseason Player of the Year Ryan Jackson of Bethune-Cookman has 90 total bases, 39 hits, 34 runs, 31 RBIs and 13 home runs to go along with a .355 average.

Courtney Mirabella of North Carolina Central is obliterating opposing batters with 140 strikeouts in 17 games played. • The 2018 MEAC Tournament takes place once again in Ormond Beach, Fla. as Bethune-Cookman will host the tournament.