FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – The Nova Southeastern baseball team will look to continue their winning ways as they travel to Boca Raton, Fla., this weekend to take on the Lynn Fighting Knights.
The Sharks (24-13, 6-6 SSC) have won six straight games, their longest winning streak of the year, and are coming off a three-game sweep of conference foe Florida Southern. That allowed them to leapfrog the Mocs and move into sixth place in the SSC standings, just a half-game behind both Saint Leo and Barry.
Lynn (26-15, 9-6 SSC) sits in third place in the conference, but is coming off a series loss to Barry. They won the middle game, 6-3, but fell in the opener (11-2) and finale (8-6). Jason Matusik is the team's biggest offensive threat, leading the squad in nine offensive categories. He is the SSC co-leader in RBI with 39 this season. The team's top three starting pitchers each have at least five wins and a sub-3.00 ERA: Joe Perrotta (5-2, 2.33), Kentrail Pierce (6-3, 2.61) and Jed Vandernaald (5-4, 2.77).
Though the series has been bumped up a day, the NSU probable rotation has not changed. It will be the same trio that faced FSC, with all three starters picking up wins and quality starts in that three-game set.
Game one, now set for a Friday 3 p.m. start, will have
Vinnie Contaldi (Sr., Jupiter, Fla.) on the hill for the Sharks. Though the righthander gave up seven runs against the Mocs, only one was earned, and he threw up zeroes in the last three innings of his six-inning win, improving to 4-3 this season. He also struck out seven, and leads the team with 43 strikeouts this year.
Saturday, a noon doubleheader, will feature the combination of
Zachary Westcott (Jr., Weston, Fla.) and
Mitchell Buerosse (Jr., Lighthouse Point, Fla.). Last Sunday, Westcott fell just one out shy of a complete game, giving up just six hits and two runs. He had five punchouts and is now 3-2 on the year. The junior has given up two earned runs in each of his last four starts, and in his last five games pitched, has a 2.37 ERA.
In the capper against the Mocs, the southpaw Buerosse did complete his seven-inning affair, allowing just five hits and two runs while striking out six. He leads the team with five wins, against three losses, and has given up two runs or less in six of his nine starts this season. Opposing batters are hitting just .205 against him this year, which is second in the Sunshine State Conference, and his eight walks issued is also second-best.
Four players hit .450 or above against FSC.
Alex Marrero (Sr., Miami, Fla.) led the way at .571 and had two home runs and five RBI.
Michael Melendez (So., Miramar, Fla.) had a team-high six RBI and a .545 average, and he and
Brandon Sedell (So., Davie, Fla.) each had four extra-base hits. Sedell was at an even .500 during the series, while
Jose Rodriguez (Sr., Hialeah, Fla.) was just a tick below him at .455. Rodriguez extended his streak of reaching base to 20 consecutive games, while Marrero puts a 15-game streak on the line this weekend.
Rodriguez leads seven Shark batters with a .300 or better average, at .417, which is also tops in all of the SSC. He is third in the conference in both slugging percentage (.592) and on-base percentage (.486), and sixth in hits (50). He and
Carlos Asuaje (Jr., Weston, Fla.) share the team high with 27 RBI, with Sedell one back at 26.
Asuaje leads the conference in stolen bases, with 31 successful swipes in 33 attempts. His 31 walks are second in the SSC, and his on-base percentage of .449 places him ninth.
Eric Acevedo (Sr., Miami) tops the squad and is third in the SSC with six home runs, followed by Rodriguez, Marrero and
Kevin Reynolds (Jr., Fort Myers, Fla.), each with four.
Live audio for the entire series will be available
HERE, and live stats can be viewed
HERE. Follow the NSU baseball team on Twitter at
www.Twitter.com/NSU_Baseball.
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.
