TAMPA, Fla. – The No. 6 Nova Southeastern University baseball team (35-15, 18-6 SSC) will take on the West Georgia Wolves (39-14, 22-11 GSC) in the first round of the NCAA South Region tournament. First pitch is set for 7:00 p.m. on Thursday night at the University of Tampa Baseball Field.
The Sharks come into the regional playing #RedHot baseball, going 24-5 in their last 29 games. NSU has won seven of eight Sunshine State Conference series to close the season, including road series wins over the No. 1 team in the country at the time, Tampa, the No. 17 Florida Southern Mocs and four other SSC sweeps. NSU's pitching staff, heading by Alex Mateo, Julian Loret de Mola, Devin Raftery and Alex Kline have been dominant this year, combining for a 2.51 ERA with 221 strikeouts in 215.1 innings pitched. Offensively, the NSU lineup is as deep as any lineup in the country, led by Brandon Gomez who leads the team in nearly every offensively category and is second in the SSC in home runs (19) and RBI (68).
West Georgia arrives in Tampa, Fla. after making a deep run in the Gulf South Tournament and jumping West Alabama in the final NCAA South Region poll. Against teams in the 2016 NCAA South Region tournament, the Wolves are 4-5. This will be West Georgia's first NCAA South Region tournament appearance since 1998 when they won the tournament and reached the NCAA Division II College World Series. Just like the Sharks, the Wolves finished the year on a tear, winning 21 of their final 24 regular season games. Offensively, the Wolves are lead by DH Cade Marlowe and shortstop Caleb Lopes who are both hitting over .400. On the mound, West Georgia has turned to Matthew Norton and Brandon Goldsmith in 2016, as they have collected records of 7-1 and 9-1, respectively.
Follow the Sharks throughout the NCAA South Region tournament on Twitter at @NSU_Baseball and tune into the games live by following the links on the schedule page.
