DOVER, Del. - The Delaware State University softball team seeks their first Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Championship since the 2008 season and will open the 2012 Tournament against North Carolina A&T at 10 a.m. Thursday at the Ormond Beach Sports Complex in Ormond Beach, Fla.

The Hornets clinched the MEAC North title for the second consecutive season with a 14-3 conference record and will be the No. 1 seed in the North.  Delaware State finished the 2012 regular season with a 25-16-1 overall record.  The three conference losses marks the fewest since the 2006 season when DSU finished 20-3 in MEAC play (including postseason) and the 16 overall losses is the fewest since 1994 when the Hornets were 18-10.

Del State is led on the field by reigning back-to-back MEAC Player of the Year in senior Jordan Reid (Accokeek, Md.), who is first in the MEAC and 24^th in the nation with a .425 batting average.  She is also 19^th with runs per game (1.05), 20^th with HBP per game (0.33) and 25^th in triples (4.0 per game).  Freshman and MEAC Rookie of the Year candidate Bria Green (Wheatley Heights, N.Y.) is 10^th in the conference with a .347 batting average while sophomore Stephanie Martello (Oxnard, Calif.) is 11^th at a .344 mark.

As a team, the Hornets are 51^st in the NCAA with a .292 average.  They are eighth overall with 0.31 triples per contest.

In the pitcher's circle, the Hornets have a solid presence in sophomore Rachel Meagley (Spokane, Wash.), sophomore Stephanie Sarris (Rohnert Park, Calif.) and senior Casey Beighley (Los Angeles, Calif.).  Meagley is currently 6-1 on the year with a 1.56 ERA while Sarris and Beighley are each 8-4 with respective ERAs of 2.32 and 2.61.

The Aggies are the No. 4 seed in the South as they finished MEAC play with a 7-8 record.  Juanita Jernigan leads the team with a .358 batting average while Ashira Dobison is 14-19 with a 4.88 ERA in the pitcher's circle.

Savannah State, who entered the conference just one year ago, clinched the southern division title after defeating South Carolina State in three straight games this past weekend.  The Lady Tigers finished atop the standings in the south with a 12-3 MEAC mark.

The defending MEAC champion Bethune-Cookman Lady Wildcats earned the second seed in the southern division, followed by Florida A&M and N.C. A&T.

Coppin State clinched the second seed in the north behind the Hornets while Norfolk State is the third seed.  The Hampton Lady Pirates earned the fourth and final seed.

The Tournament gets underway Thursday, May 10, beginning at 10 a.m.  Savannah State (S1) will face Hampton (N4) in addition to DSU playing N.C. A&T at the same time.  Games three and four will include Coppin State (N2) against Florida A&M (S3) and Bethune-Cookman (S2) against Norfolk State (N3) with both games beginning at 1:30 p.m.

The championship finale is set for Saturday, May 12 at 1 p.m. A complete tournament schedule of events is available at DSUHornets.com and MEACsports.com.

To follow DSU softball on their road to a MEAC title, follow www.twitter.com/DelStSB and www.facebook.com/DSUSoftball for continual updates, photos, video diaries and blog posts.

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