FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – The Nova Southeastern baseball team (24-13, 8-10 SSC) is set to take on the nation's best, in the No. 1 Tampa Spartans (39-2, 14-1 SSC), for a three-game Sunshine State Conference series this weekend in Tampa, Fla. at the University of Tampa Field. The opening game of the series will start Friday, April 18th at 6 p.m. and will conclude with a doubleheader on Saturday, beginning at 1 p.m.
 
The Sharks will look to bounce in a major way, after dropping their previous six outings against the then No. 19 Florida Southern and No. 5 Lynn, the past two weekends.
 
The Spartans, who have been the top-ranked team in the nation all year, enter the series with just two losses. Their first loss came against the then No. 3 Georgia College Bobcats, a team they took two of three from, and the then ranked No. 16 Florida Southern Moccasins.
 
"Playing the University of Tampa is always a challenge and they are playing outstanding baseball," said head coach Greg Brown. "At this point in the season, every game is crucial and we are preparing to get back to playing our style of baseball each pitch by focusing on our process."
 
Tampa has been one of the best offensive teams in the country this season, scoring 343 runs (8.4 pg), good for seventh in the nation. The Sharks have also swung the bat well this year, ranked 47th in the country, with 243 runs scored (6.6 pg).
 
NSU's identity has been in its pitching this season, allowing just 3.16 earned runs a game. The Sharks have the advantage over the Spartans in that category, who, as a team, have a 3.36 ERA. The Sharks have also allowed the fewest home runs in the conference, but will face a tough test against a Tampa team who leads the SSC and is ninth in the nation in home runs, with 36.  
 
When these teams met at the NSU Baseball Complex last season, the Sharks won one of three against the eventual national champions. NSU took the final game of the series, 11-6, before dropping the first two by a combined four runs.
 
The last time the Sharks won a series against the Spartans came in 2011, when NSU took two of three from UT. The Sharks won games one and two 6-4 and 7-6, before dropping the final game 8-7.
 
In the overall series between the two sides, Tampa has had the upper hand, winning 32 of the 46 meetings against NSU.
 
For live stats of the games, Click Here. To watch the live broadcast of the series, Click Here. To follow along with live tweets of the games, follow NSU_Baseball.