FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – No. 18 Nova Southeastern can finally rid itself of Palm Beach Atlantic after four consecutive ball games against the Sailfish, but following a quick 48-hour turnaround, now must gear up for a key three-game Sunshine State Conference set at Rollins as the final stretch of the regular season approaches.
The Sharks enter the weekend three games back in the loss column of current league-leader Tampa, and if a second SSC title in three years is to return to Fort Lauderdale, Florida, head coach Greg Brown's club will need to find a way to reel off a couple weekend sweeps over its last 12 contests. Nova Southeastern has compiled a strong 9-2 record in its previous three weekend series, but has been tripped up in the final game in each of its last two – the most recent being the most gut-wrenching.
Just three outs away from a perfect weekend at home against Palm Beach Atlantic last Saturday, the Sharks saw a 4-2 advantage diminish after committing three errors in the final frame before eventually falling 9-4. The effects from the loss then appeared to carry over into Tuesday's road defeat versus the Sailfish as Nova Southeastern recorded a season-high six errors in the narrow 4-3 setback.
However, Rollins provides a new opponent for the Sharks, and one that will bring a fresh-start feeling considering Nova Southeastern's recent success against the Tars. Nova Southeastern has beaten its SSC counterpart in five of the last six meetings, taking all three ball games against Rollins in 2016 by an average of over five runs per game.
The Shark offense was the story a year ago versus the Tars, but don't sleep on the Nova Southeastern pitching staff this time around as Brown appears to have finally fine-tuned his rotation. After moving Derik Beauprez and Jonny Ortiz into the mix last weekend, the Sharks' three starters surrendered just four earned runs in a combined 19 innings of work – a mark nearly three runs less than their season earned run average of 4.85.
Rollins owns a pedestrian 5-7 record in the SSC heading into Thursday, but made the rest of the league wary of its potential after earning a series victory over a Florida Southern team that hadn't lost since late February last weekend.
Outfielder Peter Nicoletto and starting pitcher Brad Case cleaned up both SSC weekly honors for their respective efforts against the Moccasins. Nicoletto collected six RBI's in the series to raise his team-best total to 35. The senior also ranks atop the SSC in triples with seven and is now just one away from breaking the Rollins career triples record. Case, meanwhile, is fresh off a 10-strikeout performance in which he improved to 5-4 on the year. The 6-foot-7 righty's 3.15 ERA is currently sixth-best in the league.
NSU leads the all-time series versus Rollins, 34-21. For complete coverage throughout the weekend, log onto NSUSharks.com or follow the Sharks on Twitter @NSU_Baseball.
