FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – The No. 13 Nova Southeastern baseball team (24-7, 8-4 SSC) will travel to Lakeland, Fla. to take on the number 19 nationally ranked Florida Southern Moccasins (22-11, 5-4 SSC) for a three-game series this weekend.
"Florida Southern is a program full of rich tradition and knows how to win," said head coach Greg Brown. "This weekend's series is another challenge for our club to go on the road and continue to compete to be at the top of the conference. Week in and week out SSC play is a battle and I am looking forward to us competing in the second half of our conference schedule."
The Sharks took the week off after taking two of three against Palm Beach Atlantic last weekend in Jupiter, Fla. NSU dropped the first game in 13 innings, 4-3, but bounced back, beating the Sailfish by a combined 35-5 in the final two outings.
Mitchel Buerosse (Sr., Lighthouse Point, Fla.) and
Dillon Frye (Jr., Raleigh, N.C.) combined for a perfect game in the final game of the series. The game began Saturday afternoon, with Frye on the mound, before rain postponed it until Sunday, where Buerosse got the nod and proceeded to retire all 18 batters he faced, nine by way of strikeouts.
Geoff Jimenez (Sr., Pembroke Pines, Fla.) has showed the nation that he is dangerous when he's on base, stealing 22 bases this season, 10th most in Division II. He has also been a reliable glove in centerfield, with just one error in 69 chances.
Alexander Fernandez (Jr., Davie, Fla.) and
Mario Urdaneta (Jr., Ocala, Fla.) lead the team in hitting, both batting over .360 this season. Fernandez had another great series against the Sailfish, batting in eight runners, four of which coming on a grand slam in the final inning of the final game of the series.
The Sharks have won seven of their last 10 contests entering this weekend's series, and have been one of the most complete teams in the Sunshine State Conference. NSU currently sits third in the conference in team batting average (.313) and lead the SSC in team ERA (2.67) and opponent's batting average (.230).
The Mocs, who enter their series with the Sharks, have played .500 ball recently, winning five of their last 10 games. Their marquee win in that stretch was a 13-6 win over No. 1 Tampa, handing the Spartans their second loss of the year. The Spartans ended up taking the other two games from FSC. Florida Southern has also recently played PBA in a three-game stint, taking two of three from the Sailfish.
Chris Dennis has been the Mocs' most threatening bat, leading the conference in hits (47) and is second in batting average (.382). Trey Vavra is another bat that the Sharks staff will have to be weary of in this series. Vavra is sitting in second in the SSC, with six home runs on the year.
Clay Chapman (3-3), the Mocs' ace, is currently leading the conference in strikeouts, with 59, 15 more than anyone else in the conference.
Florida Southern has historically gotten the better of the Sharks, going 36-22 all-time against NSU. However, the Sharks made a dent in that record, when last season they swept the Mocs at home in a three-game series.
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