FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – After maintaining the top spot in this week's National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) rankings, No. 1 Nova Southeastern will look to maintain its offensive surge when it officially opens Sunshine State Conference play on the road Friday for the first of three games against Eckerd.
 
The Sharks have not only beaten the Tritons in five straight meetings, including the last two in St. Petersburg, Florida by a combined 27-6 margin, but enter the weekend fresh off a win over Flagler in which they produced a season-high 19 runs on 18 hits. With three more home runs on Tuesday, Nova Southeastern has now belted 22 total through 10 games and has since captured the league-lead in team batting average at .338.
 
All nine starters reached base at least twice against the Saints, with five of those player recording two or more RBI's. Second baseman Jancarlos Cintron led the way with a team-high five runs batted in, while both Jake Anchia and Dylan Woods each tallied three apiece. After opening the year 1-for-10 at the plate, Woods has now registered multiple hits in four consecutive ball games, collecting nine RBI's in the process.
 
On paper, all signs point towards more impressive offensive numbers for the Sharks this weekend facing an Eckerd club with a current team earned run average of 8.07. The Tritons have surrendered 10-plus runs in three of their 10 contests, and outside of Dillon McCullough, no starter possesses an ERA below 6.59.
 
Following its series victory over Montevallo on the opening weekend of the season, Eckerd has dropped six of seven overall including a 9-7 setback versus NAIA-member Southeastern on Tuesday.
 
Nick Conti and Sam Cochrane have both notched hits in each of the Tritons' first 10 games to guide the offense for Eckerd, while sophomore Justin Glover has provided the power with a pair of homers and 11 RBI's.
 
NSU leads the all-time series against Eckerd 45-15 (.750).
 
Potential NSU Series Starting Pitchers
 
Friday (6 PM)
Devin Meyer – 1-1, 13.1 IP, 2.70 ERA, 10 K, 6 BB, 13 H
 
Saturday (Game One, 12 PM)
Matt Hardy – 1-0, 7.0 IP, 2.57 ERA, 6 K, 2 BB, 7 H
 
Saturday (Game Two, 3 PM)
Joe DiBenedetto – 2-0, 14.0 IP, 3.86 ERA, 9 K, 4 BB, 9 H
 
 
For complete coverage of this weekend's action, log onto NSUSharks.com or follow the Sharks on Twitter @NSU_Baseball.