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FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – The Nova Southeastern baseball team (15-4, 1-1 SSC) will return to Sunshine State Conference play this weekend in a three-game series against the Eckerd Tritons (12-11, 1-5 SSC) at the NSU Baseball Complex. The series will begin Friday at 6 p.m. and will conclude with a doubleheader Saturday at 1 p.m.
The Sharks enter the weekend after a 16-7 blowout of Palm Beach Atlantic on the road. The Sharks, who trailed by three runs early, exploded in the fourth and seventh innings, combining for 13 runs.
Areo Regoli (Sr., Homestead, Fla.) recorded his third multiple home run game of the season. Regoli went 3-for-6 with four RBI and two runs.
Ray Navarro (Sr., Miami, Fla.) went 2-for-3 with three RBI and three runs scored.
The Sharks move on to an Eckerd team that has started the Sunshine State Conference season 1-5 despite holding an above .500 overall record. In a conference full of NCAA Division-II powerhouses, Eckerd has struggled to hold its own in the past. Since NSU has joined the SSC, Eckerd has finished in last place every season. In that time span, the Tritons have never won more than five conference games in a season.
Subsequently, since NSU has joined the SSC, every team that has won the conference championship has swept Eckerd that season. Since the 2005 season, only Tampa, Barry and Florida Southern have claimed the SSC Championship. History has proven that the Sharks will need a sweep this weekend if they aim for the top spot in the SSC.
Despite all this, Eckerd is not a team the Sharks can take lightly. They have the reigning SSC Pitcher of the Year in Joey Cuda. Cuda has been the Tritons’ leader in innings pitched and strikeouts for two straight seasons and will likely do the same this season. He has already been named SSC Pitcher of the Week twice. This season, he holds a 1.61 ERA and a .190 opposing batting average. Offensively, the Tritons are led by Alex Del Monte (.349 batting average) and Joe McLemore (six home runs).
In this early portion of the season, only three teams, Barry, Lynn and Florida Southern, have an above .500 conference record. The Barry Buccaneers, who lead the SSC with a 5-1 record, take on 5-4 Florida Southern. Rollins will make their SSC season debut in a home series against Lynn. Tampa, the preseason favorites to win the conference, will look to win their first series of the season against Saint Leo.
After starting the conference season 1-1 on the road against Florida Tech, three wins at home will boost the Sharks into the top tier of SSC standings. With the top-three teams all facing tough competition, a sweep could put the Sharks on top of the standings as the only one-loss team. However, a series loss could leave the Sharks picking up the pieces with a below .500 record.
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