FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – The No. 17 Nova Southeastern baseball team (16-4, 3-3 SSC) is set for a five-game stretch over a span of five days, beginning Friday, March 14 and ending Tuesday, March 18. The Sharks start with a big Sunshine State Conference series against cross-town rival Barry for a three game series, beginning Friday with a single game at 6 p.m., then finishing up with a doubleheader on Saturday at 1 p.m. NSU will then play a single game against Northwood at the NSU Baseball Complex, on Monday at 3 p.m. then conclude with its makeup game against St. Thomas in Miami Gardens, Fla. on Tuesday at 6 p.m.
The Sharks are coming off a big 9-0 win against American International on Monday, at the NSU Baseball Complex. The Sharks allowed three hits as a staff, while the offense lit up the scoreboard with two home runs and combined for 13 hits.
The Sharks will look to carry that momentum into Miami Gardens, when they take on a Barry team (16-6) who has scored 199 runs, the fourth most in Division II so far this season.
"We're going to continue to attack the zone and execute one pitch at a time," said pitching coach Pete Woodworth. "We've prepared all fall and spring for this weekend. I'm excited to see our pitchers compete."
This will be a matchup to watch, as NSU boasts the lowest ERA in the conference with a 2.45 ERA as a staff.
As strong as Barry's bats have been this season, pitching has been their Achilles heel. The staff's 4.62 ERA is the second highest in the SSC.
The Sharks pitching rotation will need to be mindful of junior leftfielder, Sheehan Planas-Arteaga, when he steps to the plate. Planas currently sits atop of the conference in slugging percentage (.770), second in the conference in batting average (.459) and second in on-base percentage (.583). He's had 74 at bats this season.
Barry enters this weekend's series with NSU, most recently winning 10-0 and 20-8 against Adelphi and American International, respectively.
This will be the 78th meeting between the two sides. Barry has gotten the better of the Sharks, winning 46 times. In the series at the NSU Baseball Complex last season, the Bucs took the first two games by a combined four runs before the Sharks prevented the sweep and topped Barry, 10-9, in the final game.
On Monday the Sharks will be taking on Northwood, who, as of March 13, has a 14-8-1 record. Their 9-9 tie came against Palm Beach Atlantic, which was suspended due to darkness.
The Sharks made a late add to take on the Seahawks to make up for their cancelation against Southern New Hampshire.
Northwood is batting a collective .315 on the year and is led by Keivan Berges, who has a team-high in home runs (4) and batting average (.400). Curt Hilgenberg is also having a strong start to the season, batting a solid .365 in 74 at bats.
As a pitching staff, the Seahawks have a combined 3.79 ERA and are led by Anthony Seblano who, in 32 innings pitched, has a 1.12 ERA to go along with a 3-0 record.
The Sharks and Northwood have been just about as even as two teams can be. In 31 games played against each other, NSU holds a 16-15 record over the Seahawks. The last time these teams met was the Sharks season opener in 2011, when NSU got the better of Northwood, 2-1, at the NSU Baseball Complex.
On Tuesday, the Sharks take on St. Thomas in a game that was originally slated for earlier in the year, but was suspended because of inclement weather. This is the first of their home and home against each other.
The Bobcats (17-9, as of March 13th) are 2-1 against SSC opponents so far this season. They topped Lynn in a single game, 12-6, before they split a doubleheader against the Eckerd Tritons in St. Petersburg, Fla.
St. Thomas is another high-powered offense, scoring 180 runs, sixth most in the NAIA, through their first 26 games. The team also has the most doubles in the NAIA, with 56. Edwin Medina, in 103 at bats this season, is averaging .447 at the plate.
Pitching has also been a strong point for the Bobcats, combing for a 2.92 ERA as a staff. They also have 203 strikeouts this season, which is fourth most in all of the NAIA.
St. Thomas has a 32-26 record over the Sharks in the overall season series, however, the Sharks won both times they met the Bobcats last year.
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