FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – The No. 4 Nova Southeastern baseball team (14-2, 2-1 SSC) is set for a four-game week at the NSU Baseball Complex. The Sharks will take on the Southern New Hampshire Penmen (4-3) for a single game on Wednesday, beginning at 6 p.m. The Sharks will conclude the week with a Sunshine State Conference series against the Eckerd Tritons (8-3). The first game against the Tritons will take place Friday night at 6 p.m. and conclude with a doubleheader on Saturday starting at 1 p.m.
The Sharks, after taking two of three on the road from the then-No. 5 Florida Tech Panthers, jumped two spots in the latest Collegiate Baseball poll to fourth.
The series against FIT was a typical SSC matchup, close from the first pitch to the final out. The Sharks outlasted FIT in the Friday night game, winning 5-2 in 11 innings.
Roberto Baroniel (Jr., Miami) pitched 7.1 innings, allowing two runs on four hits. However,
Josh Glick (So., Boca Raton, Fla.) was the hero on the mound for the Sharks, coming into the game in the bottom of the 9th in a 2-2 ballgame, needing to get out of a bases-loaded jam. Glick got out of the inning and picked up the win after
Angel Navarro's (Jr., Miami Lakes, Fla.) two-run double put the game out of reach for the home side.
In game two, the Panthers got the better of the Sharks, running away with it after scoring five runs in the eighth, en route to a 10-2 win. The deciding game turned into another grind out win for the Sharks. Trailing by two after the first, the Sharks tallied three in the third, giving NSU the lead and eventual win behind a 3-2 score.
Dillon Frye (Jr., Raleigh, N.C.) picked up his first win as a Shark pitching four innings, allowing two, one of which was earned, while striking out two.
Alexander Fernandez (Jr., Davie, Fla.) shut the door on the Panthers, not allowing a hit in three innings of work, striking out four batters.
Wednesday will be a tough test for the Sharks, facing a Southern New Hampshire team that has made the NCAA East Regional Tournament two years running. In 2012, the Penmen advanced to the College World Series in Cary, N.C. after winning the East Regional.
SNHU is currently in the middle of a road trip up and down the east coast. The Penmen began their season at the Ripken Experience in Myrtle Beach, S.C., winning three of five over a four-day span. SNHU has since made their way down to Florida, most recently falling to Lynn, 2-1 in 15 innings. The team has two games Tuesday, March 4, in Lantana, Fla., before taking on the Sharks Wednesday.
The Penmen, in the early season, are hitting a combined .247 as a team, led by Brendan O'Brien, who is hitting .323, batting in three runs so far this year.
The Sharks and SNHU have met five times in the past in which NSU has taken three of five from the Penmen. These teams have met as recently as last season, when the then-No. 11 SNHU Penmen topped the Sharks 14-12 at the NSU Baseball Complex.
In their SSC series against Eckerd this weekend, the Sharks will take on a much improved Tritons team from a year ago. Eckerd has won eight of their first 11 games and looking to tack on one more on Wednesday against Thomas (Ga.) University, before clashing with NSU this weekend.
The Tritons have six starters hitting .300 or better and are hitting .332 as a team. Mike Abraham has come on strong as of late, hitting .500 in 28 plate appearances. Abraham posted a 4-for-5 and four-RBI performance against Ave Maria earlier in the season.
The Sharks are 39-13 against the Tritons overall, and took two of three from Eckerd last season, including a 26-2 win over the home team in St. Petersburg, Fla.
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