BALTIMORE, Md. (March 21, 2025)—The Morgan State softball team returns to Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) play this weekend, when it travels to Maryland's Eastern Shore to take on the Hawks of the University of Maryland Eastern Shore (UMES).
 
The three-game series gets underway with a doubleheader on Saturday, March 22 beginning at 1 p.m. and concludes on Sunday with a single game at 12 noon. All three contests will be played at the Henry S. Parker Athletic Complex in Salisbury, Md.
 
MSU-UMES SERIES: Morgan State, which has won four straight and five of the last six over Maryland Eastern Shore, has claimed victory in 25 of the last 30 games against the Hawks. Last season the Lady Bears swept the three-game series in Baltimore, then defeated UMES a fourth time last season, when the two met in the MEAC Tournament in Norfolk, Va.
 
BEAR CLAWS: Morgan State (5-18, 1-2 MEAC) enters this weekend's series coming off a doubleheader split against visiting Colgate on Wednesday. The Lady Bears won the opening game 1-0, and dropped the second game, 5-4.
  
A LOOK AT UMES: The Hawks (2-19, 1-2 MEAC), losers of three straight, are coming off a doubleheader loss at North Carolina A&T on Tuesday in Greensboro. The Aggies would win both games in five innings, 10-1 and 19-1. UMES began MEAC play dropping 2-of-3 at Coppin State (March 14-15).
 
ON DECK: Morgan State will be off until next weekend when they host South Carolina State (March 29-30) at Lois T. Murray Field. First pitch between the Lady Bears and Lady Bulldogs is at 1 p.m. on Saturday, followed by Game 2 at 3 p.m. Sunday's contest will start at 12 noon.

MORGAN DROPS FIRST MEAC SERIES SINCE 2023: The Lady Bears dropped their series finale to Delaware State, 7-6 on March 16, giving the Hornets a 2-1 series victory over Morgan State. The loss was the Lady Bears' first MEAC series loss in their last nine conference series. The last time Morgan State lost a MEAC series was April 15-16, 2023 against Maryland Eastern Shore.
 
RODRIGUEZ NAMED MEAC PITCHER OF THE WEEK: Morgan State sophomore Serena Rodriguez was named MEAC Pitcher of the Week (2/25). Rodriguez went 1-1 for the week, collecting an ERA of 0.64 in the circle. The Simi Valley, Calif., native pitched 11.0 innings, including a complete game against Fairleigh Dickinson. She surrendered just one earned run on 11 hits and struck out three batters. In the series finale victory over the Knights, Rodriguez went four scoreless innings, allowing four hits and struck out two batters to earn her first win of the season.
 
RIVAS NAMED TO NFCA ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM: Morgan State sophomore outfielder Amber Rivas was named to the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) Division I Leadoff Classic All-Tournament Team (2/9). Rivas posted a .385 batting average over the opening weekend, recording five hits with one double, three RBI and a run scored in five games. She also tallied a walk and two stolen bases. A native of West Hills, Calif., Rivas recorded an RBI, walk and stolen base to help Morgan State defeat Notre Dame, 5-4 in the season opener. It was the program's first victory over an opponent of the newly constructed Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC). Rivas recorded her first hit of the season, which was a double and an RBI against Pittsburgh. She then went 2-for-3 at the plate against Bethune-Cookman and closed out the tournament with another 2-for-3 performance with a run and RBI and a stolen base in the finale against Marshall.
 
MORGAN TAKES DOWN NOTRE DAME IN SEASON-OPENER: Morgan State opened the season in the prestigious National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) Division I Leadoff Classic against Notre Dame and handed the Irish a 5-4 loss in the opener (2/7). The win was Morgan State's first-ever against a member of the newly constructed Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC). Notre Dame (0-1) entered the contest with an RPI ranking of 66^th, while Morgan State (1-0) was 183^rd. Playing in the Leadoff Classic for the first time in program history, the Lady Bears jumped out to an early 3-0 lead in the first inning. Morgan State would maintain its three-run advantage until the top of the fifth inning when the Irish scored three runs to even the score at 3-3. The Irish then added a run in the top of the sixth to pull ahead 4-3, its first lead of the contest. However, the lead would be short-lived, as the Lady Bears responded with two runs in the bottom half of the sixth inning, which proved to be the difference to give Morgan State the 5-4 victory. Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) Preseason Player of the Year and MEAC first-team pitcher and utility selection, Victoria Fletcher went 2-for-3 at the plate with an RBI and a walk. MEAC third-team selection Alison Keener also went 2-for-3 at the plate and scored a run.
 
2025 MEAC CHAMPIONSHIP: The 2025 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) softball championship tournament is scheduled for May 7-10, 2025 at NSU Softball Field, hosted by Norfolk State University.
 
 
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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.