FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla.– The Nova Southeastern University softball team (31-18, 9-12 SSC) looks to end the regular season 11-0 as the Sharks face the Florida Southern Moccasins (23-20, 11-10 SSC) in a three-game set Thursday, April 28 and Friday, April 29 at Barnett Field.

 

NSU has a lot riding on the series as they fight for one of the eight bids that advance to the NCAA South Regional Tournament, as well as a top-four finish in the SSC Standings.

 

The Sharks are coming off a sweep over SSC foe Lynn University as NSU completed each win by virtue of a run-rule.

 

Junior Sara DeMuth (Plant City, Fla.) was nearly unstoppable at the plate, batting a monstrous .857 with three doubles for a slugging percentage of 1.286 during the conference series. She was also hit by five pitches during the week to lead the team with a .765 on-base percentage. She also scored a run in every game.

 

Senior Lexi Sarradet (Miami, Fla.) became NSU’s all-time wins leader on senior night with 70. The hurler threw 18.0 innings with a 3-0 record for the week, striking out 19. She is looking to break another record as she is just four strikeouts behind NSU Hall of Famer Jennifer Ridenoure, who stands at 597.

 

Sophomore Laura Saladrigas (Hollywood, Fla.) has truly been one of the top hitters in the conference, nearing the top of every offensive category. The utility player leads the conference with 50 runs batted in, 60 hits and four triples.

 

Senior Rachel Talenfeld (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) is also top-ranked in some of the statistical categories as the speedy slapper sits first in stolen bases (23), second in walks (27), fourth in runs scored (40) and sixth in on-base percentage (.459).

 

Third baseman Dani Millan (Ventura, Calif.) and DeMuth ranked not only top in the conference in hit by pitches, but 11th and 13th in the nation, respectively.

 

A sweep by the Sharks would also tally the program’s 600th win.

 

The Mocs are coming off a huge sweep over the Florida Tech Panthers, which has placed them a spot above the Sharks in the SSC standings.

 

Included with the three wins, Brittany Martin and Christine Clark earned this weeks SSC Player of the Week honors. Martin batted .714 with three runs and five RBI. She had two doubles and a home run along with a 1.429 slugging percentage, a .667 OBP, and a 1.000 fielding mark.

Clark, the SSC Pitcher of the Week, earned all three wins in the circle, including two-shutout victories in 18.1 innings of work. Clark began the series hurling a perfect game, the Mocs’ first since 2003.

At the plate, Florida Southern sits third in the conference with a .311 batting average and fifth with a .363 on-base percentage. They are last in the conference in drawing walks but one of the hardest teams to strikeout.

 

The Sharks and Mocs matchup are statistically very close, which can be found HERE.

The series between the two teams has been tight, but the Moccasins have the slight 14-12 lead. Last season, the Sharks swept Florida Southern, 3-0, and outscored the Mocs, 22-4.

 

Live audio (Click HERE) and live stats (Click HERE) will be available for the series. Also follow NSU Softball on Twitter through www.twitter.com/NSU_Softball.

 

For the game results, be sure to check www.NSUSharks.com or sign up to have results sent directly to your cell phone by signing up for SMS text messages by clicking here. For the weekly NSU Shark Athletic news, please sign up for the Shark Alert E-Newsletter by clicking here.