FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – The Nova Southeastern softball team (3-1) will travel to Clearwater, Fla. to take part in the 2013 Eckerd College Spring Invitational. The Sharks will compete against five teams from Friday, Feb. 8 to Sunday, Feb. 10, at the Eddie C. Moore Complex.
The Sharks open on Friday, when they take on the Georgia College Bobcats at 12:30 p.m. and follow that with a 3 p.m. game against the Colorado Christian Cougars. On Saturday, NSU will face off against Sunshine State Conference rivals the Florida Southern Mocs, at 11 a.m. On the final day of the tournament, the Sharks take on the West Florida Argonauts at 9 a.m. and conclude with the Columbus State Cougars at 11:30 a.m.
The Sharks opened its season on the road Feb. 2 with a pair of victories against the St. Thomas Bobcats before traveling to West Palm Beach, Fla., Feb. 5, and splitting a doubleheader against the Palm Beach Atlantic Sailfish.
The Sharks pitching has been on point this year allowing only six earned runs in four games.
Jennie Von Doellen (Jr., Hudson Bay, Canada) has allowed only 15 hits in in 13 innings pitched. She also is the strikeout leader on the team with 11, including eight in her last appearance against PBA.
Laura Saladrigas (Sr., Hollywood, Fla.) has also had a good start to the season, holding hitters to a team-low .271 batting average. Saladrigas is also batting .385 on the season along with a home run in game two against St. Thomas.
Seniors
Laura Saladrigas (Sr., Miami, Fla.) and
Chelsea Emery (Sr., Eustis, Fla.) have combined for eight RBI this season, while
Melanie Spicola (So., Umatilla, Fla.) leads the team with a .400 batting average.
Georgia College
The Bobcats (4-0) come into the Eckerd Invite already participating in its 2013 Bobcat Blast tournament sweeping Lincoln Memorial, 9-8 and 6-4 on Saturday, Feb. 1. The following day, Georgia College took care of Queens (N.C.), 9-1 and 6-4, to complete its perfect tournament appearance.
Junior Kristen Humphries has led the way for the Bobcats, recording six hits in eight plate appearances while adding one home run and two RBI.
Colorado Christian
The Cougars (0-0) are entering its second season as a softball program after finishing last season with a 34-29 record and advancing to the NCAA tournament in its inaugural season. CCU enters the 2013 Eckerd Spring Invitational without a game under its belt.
Junior Hannah Rapoport started all 63 games last year for the Cougars and led the team with a .459 batting average.
Florida Southern
The Mocs (0-4) enter Friday’s Invite battle tested, facing three 2012 NCAA Tournament teams that are all ranked in the 2013 NFCA Preseason top 25. This will be the second tournament for FSC as they have already participated in the Peach Belt Conference/SSC Challenge.
Despite not recording a win, Chelsea Oglevie and Kelliann Connors have each allowed less than two runs a game and have struck out a combined nine batters.
West Florida
The Argonauts (3-1) come into the weekend with a 24-5 run differential. They swept Young Harris 8-0 and 3-0 and split with South Arkansas, losing 4-1 then turning around and winning 10-1.
Sophomore pitcher Taylor Bailey has yet to allow an earned run in 13 innings pitched while recording 13 strikeouts in that time.
Columbus State
The Cougars (3-1), who also took part in the PBC/SSC Challenge, beat three out of four SSC teams. On Saturday Feb. 2, they beat Lynn, 3-2, but got handled by the Saint Leo Lions, 5-0. The following day CSU won a pair of 2-1 victories over Florida Tech and Florida Southern.
Senior Kori Waugh has started the season hot, batting 4-for-10 and adding two home runs and three RBI for the Cougars.
For the latest NSU news and results, be sure to visit www.NSUSharks.com. To have results sent directly to your cell phone via text message, sign up for SMS text message delivery by clicking here. For the latest news, be sure to sign up for the Shark Alert E-newsletter by clicking here.
