FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – Coming off of a sweep of Florida Southern, the No. 3 Nova Southeastern University Sharks (23-4, 6-0 SSC) will host St. Thomas University on Tuesday at 6 p.m. before heading to Lynn University on Friday and Saturday to take on the No. 20 Fighting Knights (22-6, 4-2 SSC) in a Sunshine State Conference three-game series.
Tuesday will be a rematch between the Bobcats and Sharks, as NSU will look to avenge their loss to STU on Feb. 17. The Bobcats belted three home runs on their way to victory, tallying a total of 20 hits.
Mario Urdaneta (Sr., Ocala, Fla.) smashed a home run for the Sharks in defeat.
Matt Hardy (So., Pembroke Pines, Fla.) will start on the mound for NSU, marking his second start of the season. He currently has a 3.27 ERA in six appearances, while striking out six batters over 11 innings pitched.
On Friday, head coach Greg Brown will lead the Sharks back to his alma mater of Lynn University, looking to win a massive SSC and NCAA South Region series. The Sharks will send the weekend trio to the mound, beginning with
Roberto Baroniel (Sr., Miami, Fla.) on Friday night and concluding with
Alex Mateo (Jr., Miami, Fla.) and
Ryan Castellanos (Jr., Davie, Fla.) for the Saturday doubleheader.
The weekend series will be a matchup of the third and fourth best pitching teams in the conference, as LU possesses a team ERA of 3.44, while NSU boasts a 3.48 ERA. The Fighting Knights' pitching staff is headed by Max Watt, the keeper of the lowest ERA is the SSC at 1.31 and most strikeouts (58). At 6'9", Watt is one of the top pitching prospects in the SSC.
Watt will go up against a Sharks offense that is hitting .315 in its last 10 games. Urdaneta leads the team during that stretch, batting .435 with a team-high 20 hits.
Justin Garcia (Jr., Hialeah, Fla.) has collected 11 extra-base hits over that span, launching six home runs, while hitting three doubles and two triples.
Alexander Fernandez (Sr., Davie, Fla.) has hit six home runs over the ten-game stretch, as well.
Be sure to tune in to each game, following the links on the
schedule page.
