DOVER, Del. --- The Delaware State baseball team will travel to Norfolk, Virginia for a four-game Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) series with the Norfolk State Spartans this weekend. Friday's series opener (3:00 p.m.) will be televised live on ESPNU. 
 
The Hornets head down to Norfolk with the mission of bouncing back after suffering three losses to the Eagles of Coppin State at home this past weekend.
 
Delaware State and Norfolk State have squared off eight times already this year with the Hornets holding a 6-2 edge over the Spartans.
 
Sophomore infielder Trey Paige has the Spartans' number as he comes into this series with an even .500 batting average and an on base percentage of .658 through those eight games. Of his thirteen hits against Norfolk State, six have gone for extra bases, two of which went for home runs. Paige also drew 11 walks and was hit by a pitch once.
 
Paige currently sits atop the MEAC in four different categories. His first-place slugging percentage of .729 has him sitting at 28th in Division I (DI). A league leading batting average of .390 ranks him 44th in the nation. Paige also leads in OPS (1.232) and home runs (9). He is currently second in the conference in on-base percentage (.503) which ranks him 23rd in DI.
 
Sophomore pitcher/first baseman Krew Bouldin and senior second baseman Miguel Rivera look to continue on with their own recent stretches of success.
 
Bouldin comes into the series ranked sixth in the country in base on balls per game (1.00) as he's drawn 34 thus far on the season. Bouldin provided a lot of bright spots for the Delaware State against Coppin State as he collected five hits in his 12 at bats, two of which were doubles. He drove in a team-high five RBIs and was given four free bases.
 
Rivera recorded an average of .357 at the plate in four games against the Eagles. His most notable performance came in Sunday's finale where he tallied a perfect 3-for-3 day including belting his second home run on the season.
 
On the mound, Delaware State will count on the arms of Peter Carreca, Jordan Haddaway, Evan Harris and C.J. Loper.
 
Carreca, Friday's starting pitcher, holds a 1-1 record against Norfolk State in 2022. He currently holds the third lowest earned run average (ERA) as well as walks/hits per innings pitched (WHIP) with 4.60 and 1.53 respectively.
 
"I think it's awesome to get the nod, knowing that my coaches have faith in me to start this series. I have to stay focused and compete against every batter to give my guys a chance to win. The guys in the field trust me to get the job done and I trust them. We know what needs to be done this weekend, so now we just need to go out and do it."  - Carreca on being named Friday's starting pitcher and the series ahead
 
Haddaway and Harris will look to remain undefeated against Norfolk State as they each have recorded a pair of wins in their outings.
 
Haddaway currently ranks in the top-10 in the league in five different categories with his highest individual ranking being tied for second in wins (5).  He is seventh in batters struck out looking (10), ninth in ERA (6.98) and 10 th in both opposition batting average and innings pitched with .314 and 38.2 respectively.
 
Harris, who also owns a 2-0 record against Norfolk State has a 1.98 ERA against the Spartans. His 39 total strike outs are good enough to rank him seventh in the MEAC in this category. Harris has notched four wins this season which ranks him fourth in the league.
 
Loper, the Hornets' closer, owns the lead in saves in the MEAC with five so far on the year.
 
Game one between Delaware State and Norfolk State at Marty L. Miller Field will now air on ESPNU on Friday at 3 p.m.