FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – The No. 9 Nova Southeastern University baseball team (31-13, 14-4 SSC) will face the No. 15 Florida Southern Moccasins (27-13, 9-6 SSC) on the road this weekend in a three-game series between the second and third-ranked teams in the Sunshine State Conference. The first game will be played Friday night at 6:00 p.m., followed by a doubleheader on Saturday that will begin at 1:00 p.m.

The Sharks were ranked second in the NCAA South Region poll, released Wednesday, while the Mocs were voted seventh.

A win in the series opener on Friday night would be the Sharks' 11th straight conference win, breaking the record of 10 that they are currently tied with, set from February 24th through April 5th, 1997, while a sweep would be their sixth in a row, breaking the record that was previously set with the first five series of the 2015 season, when the Sharks swept Stillman, Delta State, Southern New Hampshire, Albany State and Saint Leo.

The Sharks have continued their #RedHot play of late, winning 20 of their last 23 games, with a record of 9-2 on the road and 11-1 in SSC play. Kavan Thompson (.404), Kevin Suarez (.398), and Dylan Woods (.392) have all been on a tear during this stretch, while Brandon Gomez has hit 10 home runs, in addition to eight by Andres Visbal and six by Daniel Zardon, for a team total of 40. The team has 67 home runs on the year, just six away from tying the single-season program record of 73, set by the 2009 squad, with six different players contributing at least seven, including a team-high 15 from Riaan Spanjer-Furstenburg and Detroit Tigers All-Star OF J.D. Martinez and seven by the Sharks' current equipment room manager, Brayan Valencia.

On the mound, the Sharks have been equally dominant, as Alex Mateo, Matt Hardy and Julian Loret de Mola are a combined 12-0, with sub-3.00 ERA's from both Mateo (2.82) and Loret de Mola (2.09). Loret de Mola, as the reigning SSC Pitcher of the Week, is coming off the best start of his career, tossing the Sharks' first 9-inning complete game shutout since 2013, allowing just five hits and two walks, not allowing any baserunners to advance past second base, and tying his career high with nine strikeouts.

The bullpen has not missed a beat, as Alexander Kline has 0.64 ERA and .140 opponent batting average in 14 innings pitched, while Devin Raftery has a 1.17 ERA, to go along with six saves and 27 strikeouts in 15.1 innings.

Projected Pitching Matchups

Friday
NSU: Alex Mateo – 6-3, 12 GS, 74.1 IP, 3.03 ERA, 70 K, 15 BB, 70 H
FSC: Ben Richardson – 9-2, 13 GS, 79.2 IP, 4.29 ERA, 59 K, 22 B, 94 H

Saturday - Game 1
NSU: Matt Hardy – 7-1, 11 GS, 58.1 IP, 4.47 ERA, 34 K, 28 BB, 52 H
FSC: Cameron Hanes – 3-4, 10 GS, 53.0 IP, 4.25 ERA, 41 K, 25 BB, 57 H

Saturday - Game 2
NSU: Julian Loret de Mola – 5-2, 7 GS, 53.0 IP, 2.72 ERA, 47 K, 23 BB, 39 H
FSC: Logan Browning – 3-3, 12 GS, 54.2 IP, 5.93 ERA, 48 K, 32 BB, 65 H

You can follow along with the Sharks all weekend long on Twitter at @NSU_Baseball and by following the links on the schedule page.