PRINCESS ANNE, Maryland — With only three weeks left in the regular season, the University of Maryland Eastern Shore softball team heads into their most important series of the season this weekend (April 15-16) as they face the Morgan State University Bears.

The series begins with a doubleheader on Friday at 1 p.m. The final game of the series will be on Saturday at noon.

The Hawks (14-24, 10-2 MEAC) and Bears (18-13, 9-3 MEAC) are first and tied for second in the conference standings respectively. Norfolk State is also 9-3 in MEAC play. Whoever wins the series between The Shore and Morgan State is in prime position to grab one of the top two spots and a first round bye in the MEAC Tournament.

Maryland Eastern Shore is the top hitting team in the conference as they have a .306 batting average as a team. The Hawks have six players hitting over .300 on the season led by the conference leader sophomore Tatum Kresley at .462. She is followed by two teammates that are also in the top 10 in the MEAC as junior Tyanna Roberts hits .375 and sophomore Julia Garcia bats .364.

MSU is the top pitching team in the conference as they have a team ERA of 2.30. They boast the top three individual ERAs on their roster in Melissa Paz (0.49), Anaya Hunte (2.16) and Victoria Fletcher (2.17). Hunte is coming off the school's first perfect game in history on April 13 when she tossed 16 strikeouts against Delaware State.

After this weekend, Maryland Eastern Shore will be traveling to Howard for a series on April 23-24. Howard is currently 1/2 a game behind Morgan State and Norfolk State in the standings.