FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – The top ranked Nova Southeastern University Sharks (36-10, 16-5 SSC) are set to host the Barry University Buccaneers (20-26, 7-14 SSC) on Friday and Saturday, looking to clinch the Sunshine State Conference title for the first time in program history. The Sharks will celebrate the careers of seven seniors on Saturday before the doubleheader, highlighting the final regular season series of the year.
The Sharks are coming off of a series win over the Eckerd College Tritons, sweeping the Saturday doubleheader in Saint Petersburg. The Sharks hit 11 home runs on the day, five of them off of the bat of
Justin Garcia (Jr., Hialeah, Fla.). The Bucs are coming to NSU, fresh off of a series loss to the Florida Southern Mocs in Lakeland. Barry dropped the Friday night contest by a score of 6-5, won the first game of the doubleheader on Saturday 8-7 and fell in the series finale by a score of 9-3. The Bucs are led by their shortstop, JC Cardenas, a switch hitting junior shortstop hitting .349 out of the three-hole.
Seniors (Career Numbers as of 4/30/15) Roberto Baroniel (Miami, Fla.): 14-7, 4.16 ERA, 48 GP, 30 GS, 3 CG, 203.1 IP, 157 K's
Alexander Fernandez (Davie, Fla.): 88 GP, 82 R, 105 H, 24 2B, 6 3B, 15 HR, 69 RBI, .311 AVG
Mario Urdaneta (Ocala, Fla.): 88 GP, 84 R, 107 H, 22 2B, 4 3B, 8 HR, 73 RBI, .349 AVG
Yandy Viera (Hialeah, Fla.): 56 GP, 26 R, 47 H, 10 2B, 1 3B, 5 HR, 34 RBI, .267 AVG
Zachary Westcott (Weston, Fla.): 16-6, 2.97 ERA, 43 GP, 25 GS, 2 CG, 191.0 IP, 147 K's
Roche Woodard (Tampa, Fla.): 46 GP, 48 R, 70 H, 18 2B, 4 3B, 3 HR, 35 RBI, .361 AVG
Ryan Woodrey (Lighthouse Point, Fla.): 96 GP, 28 R, 47 H, 9 2B, 1 3B, 2 HR, 35 RBI, .253 AVG
Shark Bytes (Provided by @NSUStats&Info) - The Sharks honor seven seniors on Saturday: SP Roberto Baroniel, 2B Alexander Fernandez, OF Mario Urdaneta, C Yandy Viera, RP Zac Westcott, CF Roche Woodard, and UT Ryan Woodrey. In the Sharks' NCAA era (since 2003), Fernandez holds the Sharks' single-game record for doubles, with four on March 22, 2014 vs. Saint Leo, while Mario Urdaneta is (currently) third in career on-base percentage with .457, Baroniel is third in innings pitched (203.1), and Westcott in second in strikeouts looking (58). - With a historic Saturday at Eckerd, in which he was 6-8 with five home runs, eight RBI, and a 2.625 SLG, Justin Garcia set the program's single-season home run record, now at 21. He became the first player in program history to hit five home runs in one day, and also the first to hit three home runs in one game twice. Garcia currently ranks 6th in the nation in home runs, 7th in SLG (.882), 9th in total bases (149). - Riding a scoreless streak of 13.2 consecutive innings, the longest of the season, reliever Zac Westcott is second in the SSC in ERA (1.88), 2nd in opponent average (.211), and 1st in SO/9 (12.44). Westcott has allowed one unearned run on six hits in his last five appearances, spanning 14.2 innings, while striking out 26 and walking just three, good for an .102 opponent average and 16.0 SO/9. - Roche Woodard's 19-game on-base streak is the Sharks' longest active streak. In those 19 games, Woodard is hitting .443/.485/.693 with 24 runs scored, 21 runs batted in, nine doubles, two triples, three homers, and 15 of his team-leading 24 multi-hit games, and is also 8-of-10 stealing bases. - As a team, the Sharks are 17 walks away from breaking the single-season NCAA-era record of 254, set in 2011. They are also 10 home runs away from breaking that record of 73, set in 2009.Potential Pitching Matchups Game 1: Roberto Baroniel (6-4, 4.40 ERA) vs. Nate Greve (2-3, 5.29 ERA)
Game 2:
Alex Mateo (8-1, 4.09 ERA) vs. Jonathan Hernandez (6-4, 6.08 ERA)
Game 3:
Ryan Castellanos (8-2, 3.33 ERA) vs. Adrian Benitez (2-3, 6.59 ERA)
Friday night's matchup is set to begin at 6 p.m., followed by a doubleheader on Saturday, set to begin at 1 p.m. Saturday is also Senior Day, honoring all of the Sharks seniors on their outstanding careers. The Senior Day ceremony will begin at 12:30 p.m. Tune in to each game following the links on the schedule page.
