NEW CONFERENCE, NEW LEADERSHIP, NEW FIELD…HELLO 2012 NCCU SOFTBALL Ariel V. Germain 12/16/11 Lady Eagles are set to host 12 home contests and battle eight MEAC foes DURHAM, N.C. (www.NCCUEaglePride.com) – The 2012 North Carolina Central University softball season will be full of many nuances as first-year head softball coach Theresa Stephens announces the 2012 competition schedule on a new playing field on Friday, Dec. 16. In its first year as a full Division I and Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference competitor, NCCU, which is competing as a southern division squad, will battle eight conference foes, host 12 competitions, venture to nine Division I institutions and take part in four tournaments. This season, the Lady Eagles will welcome 12 competitors to a new diamond. Piney Wood Park, which is located 4.6 miles away from campus, will be the new home of the Lady Eagles. “Our schedule should be a perfect schedule for our student-athletes this season,” said Stephens. “It is not overly dominating, but competitive enough for us to compete. Our schedule will allow us to grow and improve every time we hit the field.” The Lady Eagles open the season with Colonial Athletic Association opponent UNC-Wilmington on Friday, Feb. 10 in Wilmington, N.C., for a doubleheader slated for 4:00 p.m. and 6:00 p.m. For the first tournament of the season, NCCU will head to Burlington, N.C., for the Elon University Invitational to knock bats with the Elon Phoenix and the Hoyas of Georgetown from Saturday, Feb. 11 to Sunday, Feb. 12. The mighty maroon opens at home with a doubleheader against MEAC foe Norfolk State on Thursday, Feb. 16. The Spartans will be the first opponents to venture to the Lady Eagles new home at Piney Wood Park. NCCU continues its three-game homestand with SoCon members Appalachian State on Saturday, Feb. 18 and concluded with Campbell on Tuesday, Feb. 21. First-year assistant coach Alyssa Ishibashi, who is an alum of the Wolfpack nation and a former softball student-athlete, will assist in directing the Lady Eagles to victory on Tuesday, Feb. 28 as they go up against N.C. State at 4:00 p.m. and 6:00 p.m. The first half of March will consist of three tournaments. NCCU travels to Spartanburg, S.C., for the three-day USC Upstate Tournament on March 2-4. The Palmetto State slugging feast will consist of competition between Lafayette, USC Upstate, Appalachian State, Dayton and NCCU. After a six-day competition break, the Lady Eagles fly north for the Longwood University Invitational in Farmville, Va., on March 10-11. The Division I Independent institution will welcome the mighty maroon and Binghamton. On Tuesday, March 13, NCCU takes a break from tournament play to face the Blue Hose of Presbyterian College for 3:00 p.m. and 5:00 p.m. doubleheader in Clinton, S.C. For the last regular-season tournament of the season, the Lady Eagles takes on Drexel and Campbell during the two-day March 16-17 Campbell Invitational. NCCU returns to the Piney Wood Park nest for a four-game home stand, for another matchup against USC Upstate the first game of the doubleheader is slated for 12:00 p.m. and concluded by a 2:00 p.m. contest. The Lady Eagles return to MEAC competition after a 32-day conference playing gap. On Tuesday, March 20, the mighty maroon welcomes the Hawks of Maryland Eastern for a doubleheader, the first pitch will be thrown at 4:00 p.m. The Aggies of N.C. A&T will spend two days in Durham for a doubleheader on Saturday, March 24 and a single game on Sunday, March 25 at 12:00 p.m. “I see us doing well in conference play, we have the tools to do well and surprise a lot of teams,” said Stephens. NCCU will fly south for a weekend of play in Daytona Beach, Fla., to face the 2011 MEAC Champions Bethune-Cookman University on March 31 and April 1. On Wednesday, April 4, the Lady Eagles visit another southern foe, SoCon members and 2011 conference runner-ups the College of Charleston at 3:00 p.m. and 5:00 p.m. in Charleston, S.C. For the remainder of April, NCCU battles MEAC opponents, Savannah State on April 6-7 in Durham, N.C., South Carolina State on April 14-15 in Orangeburg, S.C. and Florida A&M on April 21-22 in Durham, N.C. The three MEAC competitions consist of three contests over two days, the first day of play will consist of a doubleheader and conclude with a single-game on the last day of the matchup. The regular-season concludes with doubleheader with Hampton at 4:00 p.m. and 6:00 p.m. in Hampton, Va. For the first time since 2007, NCCU will be eligible for conference play. The top four teams from each division will compete for the 2012 conference title over three days of play in Ormond Beach, Fla., at the Ormond Beach Sports Complex. “We want to keep our goal in mind, ‘Take the MEAC by storm’, we worked all fall towards this goal and we are ready to compete for it,” said Stephens.