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FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – Nova Southeastern baseball alumni J.D. Martinez and Mike Fiers will be honored before the Sharks kick off the 2012 season at the NSU Baseball Complex Friday against the Albany State Rams at 6 p.m. The Sharks will finish the series on Saturday with a doubleheader beginning at noon.
Martinez and Fiers will be honored for being the first two NSU baseball alumni to reach the major league level. Selected in the 20th round of the 2009 draft by former Houston Astros area scout and current NSU head coach Greg Brown, Martinez was called up from AA Corpus Christie on July 30, 2011. In his first major league at bat, Martinez hit an RBI double off the centerfield wall.
Drafted in the 22nd round in 2009, Fiers was called up to the Milwaukee Brewers from AAA Nashville on Sept. 9, 2011. On Sept. 14, Fiers made his major league debut by pitching a scoreless ninth inning against the Colorado Rockies, recording back-to-back strikeouts to close the game. Former head coach and current director of athletics Michael Mominey will be presenting the two athletes with a plaque and a banner to be displayed in the outfield.
After the ceremony, the Sharks will kick off a season that has loads of promise. The Sharks return six of their nine offensive starters from the previous season, including four former All-SSC selections in
Carlos Asuaje (So., Weston, Fla.),
Areo Regoli (Sr., Homestead, Fla.),
Daniel Petitbon (Sr., Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) and
Nikko Echevarria (Sr., Abqaib, Saudi Arabia).
On the mound, the Sharks will look very different as the team brought in 12 new arms, including two NCAA Division I transfers. They’ll be joined by senior
Sean Tighe (Hobe Sound, Fla.) and sophomore
Zachary Westcott (Weston, Fla.).
If this series against Albany State is anything like last years, the Sharks will be putting on a show for the home fans. The Sharks outscored the Rams, 29-8, over three games a the NSU Baseball Complex last season. Despite the blowout wins last season, the Rams are a legitimate opponent and one of the better teams in the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. The Rams won the conference two seasons ago before having their conference title taken away by Stillman, who would go on to lose to NSU at the NCAA South Regional Tournament.
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