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FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – The Nova Southeastern baseball team (23-13, 10-5 SSC) will look to break out of their recent struggles as they travel to Saint Leo, Fla. to face the Saint Leo Lions (13-22, 2-10 SSC) in a weekend series beginning Friday, April 15 at 6 p.m.

The Sharks enter the game after dropping four of their last six games. In their last outing, the Sharks lost to the Florida Tech Panthers in the highest combined scoring game of the season for NSU, 17-15. In the game, the Sharks erased a nine-run deficit but could not stop the Panthers from scoring late in the game. The Sharks fielded six pitchers in the game, almost all of whom were knocked around by the Panther offense.

NSU, who sit fourth in the conference after dropping a close series against Sunshine State Conference-leader Barry (13-2 SSC), will look to get back on the saddle as they face the Lions who have struggled in SSC play this season. The Lions have not won a SSC series this season but they are still good enough to sneak up on talented teams. They hold victories against Tampa (11-4 SSC), 7-4, and Lynn (4-8 SSC), 4-3.

The Sharks are in need of a sweep this weekend in order to stay on track with the top teams in the conference. On top of that, they’ll be playing to maintain their winning record against the Lions. NSU holds a 17-15 overall record against Saint Leo. A series win against Saint Leo will maintain that winning record but a series loss could even the score or worse.

The weekend series could provide a great opportunity for Shark batters to take advantage of a below average pitching staff. Saint Leo trails the SSC with a .304 opposing batting average and 184 strikeouts while ranking third to last with a 4.92 ERA. Andrew Durden (Sr., Port St. Lucie, Fla.), the conference-leader with 45 runs scored, and Carlos Asuaje (Fr., Weston, Fla.), who tanks third in the SSC with 16 stolen bases, will have a great opportunity to improve their numbers.

Each game against Saint Leo will feature its own storyline on the mound as NSU’s three weekend starters will be worth paying attention to for different reasons. Sean Tighe (Jr., Hobe Sound, Fla.) (4-5) entered Tuesday’s game against Florida Tech with a 1.88 ERA over his last four starts. He also ranks third in the nation with 0.8 walks per nine innings. However, over the final 1.2 innings pitched against the Panthers Tighe allowed four hits and two earned runs which led to his fifth loss of the season. Tighe will be looking to rebound this weekend against a Saint Leo offense which ranks second in the conference with a .304 team batting average. 

Nick Avila (Sr., Pembroke Pines, Fla.) (3-1) will also be seeking a positive rebound performance against Saint Leo. Avila had 10 appearances and seven starts without a loss before dropping the Sharks’ second game against Barry last weekend. Avila will likely start again this weekend, looking to return to his winning ways.

On the other hand, former All-SSC selection Isaac Hicks (Sr., Fort Myers, Fla.) (4-2) has held on to his role as the team’s ace with consistent play all season, holding a 3.44 ERA along with 41 strikeouts. Hicks is coming close to the end of his career and will be remembered as one of the best starters in NSU’s NCAA era. However, the senior has never been named SSC Pitcher of the Week in his career while Avila and Tighe have each picked up the honor once this year. Hicks only has four more regular season weekends series to have a chance to pick up this honor, starting with this weekend’s series with Saint Leo.

Fans will be able to follow the Sharks this weekend via live audio HERE and live stats HERE. Follow NSU Baseball on Twitter at www.Twitter.com/NSU_Baseball.

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