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FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – The Nova Southeastern baseball team (13-4) is set to host another northern team Saturday when the Sharks face the No. 20 Franklin Pierce Ravens (8-2) at 6 p.m. at the NSU Baseball Complex.
The Ravens will enter the game as the highest ranked team on the field. The Ravens began the season ranked 13th in the nation but have slid back to the 20 spot. The Sharks made a brief appearance in the top-25, but have been unranked for the majority of the year. This is nothing new for the Sharks, who have never been ranked in the preseason since joining the NCAA nearly a decade ago.
Last season, NSU was in the same spot as the unranked Sharks hosted a game against the 10th ranked Ravens. Despite being an underdog as far as the national rankings are concerned, the Sharks dismantled Franklin Pierce, 11-3. The Ravens had no answer for the potent NSU offense that recorded 11 hits and drew four walks. The Sharks burned through six Franklin Pierce pitchers in the contest.
Mauricio Rodriguez (Sr., Miami, Fla.) earned the victory in relief against the Ravens last year, as the Sharks did not use any of their weekend starters. That will not be the case this season, as
Zachary Westcott (So., Weston, Fla.) is expected to start. Westcott has been the team’s ace this season, with four wins in all four of his starts. In his last outing, Westcott made his SSC debut by winning a complete game in the Sharks’ 3-1 defeat of Florida Tech. Westcott extended his record to 4-0 by holding the Panthers to one run and five hits. He struck out two batters in the contest and only walked two Panthers. Westcott brought his ERA to 2.08 and now has an opposing batting average of .227.
The Sharks will try to complete an undefeated week after claiming wins over Philadelphia, 20-1, and St. Michael’s, 14-5. After going-1-2 last week, the offense has been incredible, batting. 410 as a team and slugging .654.
Next week, the Sharks will host a Palm Beach Atlantic team that gave NSU a lot of trouble last season before hosting Eckerd for a weekend Sunshine State Conference series. A win Saturday will give the Sharks much needed momentum heading into a week loaded with important regional games.
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