BALTIMORE, Md. (April 19, 2022)--The Morgan State softball team wraps up its five-game homestand on Wednesday, April 20, when it welcomes Rider in a non-conference doubleheader at Lois T. Murray Field. The two-game series gets underway at 2 p.m. and with the second game slated for 4 p.m. 

 
With just two weeks and four series remaining in the regular season, the Lady Bears will get tested against the Broncs, as Wednesday's contest will feature one of the top ranked teams in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) in Rider against the top team in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) in Morgan State.
 
Morgan State (21-13, 12-3 MEAC) is riding a six-game winning streak, following its three-game series sweep of Maryland Eastern Shore (4/15-16). The victories moved the Lady Bears into a two-way tie for first in the MEAC standings with Norfolk State at 12-3 in league play. Morgan State holds the tiebreaker over Norfolk State with its series win over the Spartans earlier in the season.
 
Rider (23-15, 7-3 MAAC) enters the contest on a two-game losing skid, following a doubleheader loss at Lehigh on Sunday. Like Morgan State, the Broncs also sit atop their league standings in a tie, as Rider is in a four-way tie for first in the MAAC with Canisius, Siena and Iona.
 
The Broncs lead the MAAC in batting average (.310), hits (334) and in pitching with an ERA of 2.35. Jessie Niegocki leads the MAAC in runs (27) and hits (50). Grace Stansfield ranks second in hits with 44.
 
The Lady Bears are tops in the MEAC in pitching with an ERA of 1.72, and second in fielding at .951. Morgan State has four pitchers ranked in the top five in the MEAC for ERA. Melissa Paz, who ranks fourth in the nation in ERA, leads the MEAC with an ERA of 0.62 and Emily Raubuch is second at 1.25. Anaya Hunte ranks fourth (1.94), while Victoria Fletcher (2.05) is fifth.


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ABOUT MORGAN
Morgan State University, founded in 1867, is a Carnegie-classified high research (R2) institution offering nearly 140 academic programs leading to degrees from the baccalaureate to the doctorate. As Maryland's Preeminent Public Urban Research University, and the only university to have its entire campus designated as a National Treasure by the National Trust for Historic Preservation, Morgan serves a multiethnic and multiracial student body and seeks to ensure that the doors of higher education are opened as wide as possible to as many as possible. For more information about Morgan State University, visit www.morgan.edu.