FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – The top ranked Nova Southeastern University Sharks baseball team (34-9, 14-4 SSC) will travel to Saint Petersburg, Florida to take on the Eckerd College Tritons (19-25, 6-13 SSC), beginning Friday night at 6 p.m. and concluding with a doubleheader on Saturday at 1 p.m.
NSU looks to continue it's dominance in the Sunshine State Conference this weekend, winning five of the six conference series' this year, including three sweeps over Saint Leo, Tampa and Florida Southern. The Tritons have won two SSC series', sweeping the Rollins College Tars in late February and taking two-of-three from the Florida Southern Mocs on April 17 and 18.
The Sharks are coming off of a series win over the Rollins Tars, sweeping the Saturday doubleheader at Alfond Stadium. NSU was set to host Palm Beach Atlantic on Tuesday in the Battle of the Fish: 2015 Finale, but Mother Nature had other plans and washed the game.
Justin Garcia (Jr., Hialeah, Fla.) and
Roche Woodard (Sr., Tampa, Fla.) have played a massive part in the Sharks' success against conference opponents, as Garcia is hitting .400 and Woodard is hitting .388. Garcia leads the SSC in conference home runs with 12, while Woodard leads the SSC in runs scored against conference opponents with 19.
While the offense has done its part, NSU's pitching staff leads the SSC in ERA against conference opponents, posting a 4.18, while striking out 151 hitters.
Zachary Westcott (R-Sr., Weston, Fla.) has been dominant out of the bullpen, registering a 0.93 ERA in SSC competition, a full 1.38 ahead of the next best ERA. The weekend rotation, consisting of
Roberto Baroniel (Sr., Miami, Fla.),
Alex Mateo (Jr., Miami, Fla.) and
Ryan Castellanos (Jr., Davie, Fla.) have each collected three wins in conference and look to add a fourth to their SSC records.
Potential Pitching Matchups Game 1: Baroniel (6-3, 3.88 ERA) vs. Jack Silberman (4-3, 3.40 ERA)
Game 2: Mateo (7-1, 4.62 ERA) vs. Jimmy Gutowski (4-5, 4.20 ERA)
Game 3: Castellanos (8-2, 2.96 ERA) vs. Kevin Plant (2-5, 7.09 ERA)
First pitch on Friday night is scheduled for 6 p.m. at the Turley Athletic Complex, followed by a doubleheader on Saturday, beginning at 1 p.m. Be sure to tune in, following the links on the schedule page.
