BALTIMORE, Md (April 19, 2024)--The Morgan State softball team will host Beltway rival Howard in a crucial late season Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) series this weekend at Lois T. Murray Field.
 
Morgan State (24-14, 13-2 MEAC) and Howard (29-8, 13-2 MEAC) will get underway with a doubleheader on Saturday, April 20 with first pitch at 1 p.m. and the second game at 3 p.m. The series will conclude with a single game on Sunday, April 21 at noon.
 
This weekend's contests will give the winner the upper hand and could very well determine who will be the MEAC regular-season champion, as both teams enter the series tied for first in the league standings with identical 13-2 conference records.
 
Last season the series opener was canceled and was not made up. The two teams would split the doubleheader in Washington, D.C. Morgan won the finale to put an end to a three-game losing skid to the Bison, who have won six of the last 10 meetings against the Lady Bears.
 
Morgan State enters the weekend coming off a non-conference doubleheader split against Rider on Wednesday. Morgan would win the first game 4-0, then dropped the finale 3-1.
 
On Tuesday, graduate player Victoria Fletcher was named MEAC Player of the Week, while freshman Ellie Bostedt was named MEAC Rookie of the Week for their performances the week prior against Norfolk State.
 
Bostedt hit .455 against the Spartans, recording five hits, three runs and four RBI in 11 plate appearances. Bostedt also pitched a complete game shutout, giving up only four hits in seven innings with five strikeouts in 25 batters faced.
 
Fletcher went 2-0 for the week and posted an ERA of 0.86. She gave up just one run on three hits while striking on six batters in 8.1 innings. She started the week striking out five batters and surrendering one-hit in a complete game five inning victory in the series opener at Norfolk State. At the plate, Fletcher added two hits including her team-leading fourth home run and had four RBI in eight at-bats.
 
The Bison are coming off a 2-1 series win over Coppin State last weekend. The two split the doubleheader and Howard regrouped to defeat the Eagles 10-2 in five innings in the series finale. The Game 2 loss to Coppin put an end to Howard's program record 12 consecutive wins.
 
 
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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.