The Florida A&M and North Carolina A&T State softball teams will open its weekend series live on ESPNU/ESPN3 Friday afternoon at 4 p.m. EST in Tallahassee, Fla.

The broadcast marks the 13th consecutive season the MEAC has televised a softball game on an ESPN platform.

The Lady Rattlers enter Friday's contest with a 6-0 MEAC record and are coming off a doubleheader split at Troy on Wednesday evening. Winners of four consecutive MEAC Softball Championships and 13 titles overall, Florida A&M is led by 27-year head coach Veronica Wiggins as they were picked to finish first in the highly-competitive MEAC Southern Division once again. Despite losing several talented seniors from last year's squad, FAMU has continued to roll as sophomore transfer Kyaira Brown leads the pitching staff with 78 strikeouts and a 3.96 ERA. Offensively, the Lady Rattlers have received a team effort as junior infielder Taylor Rosier is the team's top batter with a team-high .337 average and 16 RBIs. Junior Tyra Bowers leads the team with 30 hits and a .309 average.

FAMU has had success both inside and outside the MEAC so far this season as they’ve claimed wins over three Power 5 teams (Georgia Tech, Rutgers, Texas Tech) along with non-conference wins over Morehead State, Quinnipiac, Saint Joseph’s and Troy.

North Carolina A&T State (3-3 MEAC) is currently tied for third with Savannah State in the MEAC’s Southern Division and are guided by fifth-year head coach Kenya Peters. The Aggies are coming off a hard-fought series against Bethune-Cookman which saw them win a contest while two of their losses were by a combined three runs. Junior Zadaisha Waddell leads the Aggies as she's the top pitcher and hitter on the squad. Waddell holds a .355 average with 22 hits and 11 RBIs while sporting a 4.10 ERA and 30 strikeouts.  Stephanie Williams follows with a team-best 25 hits and 17 RBI while Mohagony Headen leads the team with 61 strikeouts in 17 appearances.

Both teams are battling for seeds at the upcoming 2018 MEAC Softball Championship in May. The tournament once again will be held at the Ormond Beach Sports Complex, 700 Hull Road, in Ormond Beach, Fla. The top four teams in each division will compete against one another in the double-elimination tournament.