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FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – The Nova Southeastern baseball team (20-9, 7-2 SSC) will return to Sunshine State Conference play this Saturday at 1 p.m. as they begin a weekend series against the Eckerd Tritons (11-13, 0-6 SSC) in St. Petersburg, Fla.

The Sharks are coming off a disappointing game against Palm Beach Atlantic in which the offense only mustered up six hits. The Sharks gave up a run in each of the first four innings en route taking their ninth loss of the season. Fortunately, the loss was not in conference play where the Sharks hold a five-game winning streak.

Last weekend, NSU took three on the road against the Rollins Tars. The Sharks came out and destroyed the Tars with their bats in game one, winning 14-9, before dominating on the mound over games two and three. Starters Sean Tighe (Jr., Hobe Sound, Fla.) and Nick Avila (Sr., Pembroke Pines, Fla.) combined for 13 innings pitched without allowing an earned run.

The sweep kept the Sharks on pace with SSC leaders Barry (9-0) and No. 14 Florida Southern (6-0), who both swept their weekend opponents to stay undefeated. This weekend, a sweep from the Sharks will be valuable as Barry and Florida Southern face off against each other. If the Sharks sweep, they will at least hold a share of second place in the SSC with a strong chance of holding the position outright.

No. 9 Tampa (6-3) will play Saint Leo (1-8) this weekend, a team they will be highly favored against. The Sharks will need to sweep the Tritons if they want to maintain their one-game lead over the Spartans. Midway through conference play, the SSC has been split into two tiers as Saint Leo, Eckerd, Florida Tech (4-8), Lynn (2-4) and Rollins (1-5) all have minimal chances of coming back to win the SSC title.

Eckerd has had a hard road to start the year as their first three conference opponents are the top three teams in the league. They’ve been swept by both Barry and Florida Southern this season. They have the worst offense in the SSC as they rank in the bottom three in all but four offensive categories.

On the other hand, the Shark offense has been very potent. The Sharks lead the conference with 149 walks and 65 stolen bases. They also rank second in the SSC with 28 home runs and 215 runs scored. Andrew Durden (Sr., Port St. Lucie, Fla.) leads the SSC with 37 runs scored and eight home runs. Areo Regoli (Jr., Homestead, Fla.) ranks second with 31 RBI.

Another player to watch this weekend will be Sean Albury (Sr., Nassau, Bahamas). In close games this season, the Sharks have called on Albury to close the show as he’s amassed an SSC-leading seven saves. He is currently two saves behind North Georgia’s Jacob Rickett, the nation’s leader in saves.

Fans can follow the Sharks via live audio HERE and live stats HERE. Fans can follow NSU baseball through Twitter at www.Twitter.com/NSU_Baseball.