FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – The Nova Southeastern baseball team opens up their 2014 campaign with three games this weekend, a doubleheader against the Tusculum Pioneers on Saturday, Feb. 1 starting at 1 p.m., and a single game against the Catawba Indians the following day at 1 p.m.
This will be the second and third time the Sharks have taken on the Pioneers, while Catawba and NSU will be seeing each other for the first time in program history. Both opponents are from the South Atlantic Conference.
The Sharks will look to carry momentum into this season from the end of last year, after the team came away with six wins in their final seven games. NSU will also look to continue its season-opening success into Saturday, winning the previous three openers.
The team will have a lot of new faces on the diamond this season, with 15 newcomers and just two returning starters from a season ago. Newcomers like outfielder
Geoff Jimenez (Sr., Pembroke Pines, Fla.) will bring a wealth of experience to the Sharks' squad. Jimenez was a starter for Florida Atlantic last season, a team that went to an NCAA Tournament regional final. He batted .235 and knocked in 10 runs for the Owls, while stealing nine bases.
Angel Navarro (Jr., Miami Lakes, Fla.) was a starter for the Sharks last season, batting a solid .320 and tallied 14 RBI. Other returnees with experience include
Brooks Fleming (Sr., Palm City, Fla.) and
Ryan Woodrey (R-Jr., Lighthouse Point, Fla.), while
Blake Boyd (Sr., Jupiter, Fla.) returns after a year off due to injury.
The Sharks will have experience on the mound as well, with
Roberto Baroniel (Jr., Miami),
Mitchell Buerosse (R-Sr., Lighthouse Point, Fla.) and
Julian Loret de Mola (Jr., Miami) as possibilities for NSU's pitching rotation, while Josh Glick (So., Boca Raton, Fla.) and
Colton Rogers (So., Coral Springs, Fla.), had solid seasons in the bullpen last year.
The Sharks will have a tough battle against Tusculum, a team that finished last season with a 33-18 record and are picked to finish second in the SAC, behind only Catawba. The Pioneers' Vinny Ferrara and Heath Comerford led the team with their bats hitting .357 and .337, respectively. Comerford led last year's team in doubles (20) and triples (four) and raknings second on the squad in home runs (seven).
On the mound, the Sharks could face John-Austin Shepard, a reliever for the Pioneers last season, who was named to the Daktronics All-Region Team. He finished with a school-record nine saves last season.
As for Catawba, the Indians are projected to finish atop their conference, a spot where they finished last season as well, with a 36-16 record.
Offensively, Blake Houston returns for his junior season after finishing with a .391 batting average, good for second in the SAC. Senior Keaton Hawks joins Houston as a dangerous bat, finishing second on the team last season with eight home runs.
To follow along with the games via live stats
CLICK HERE. To watch the video broadcasts of the games
CLICK HERE.
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.
