LIVE STATS

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. - The Nova Southeastern softball team (11-12, 1-2 SSC) will return to conference play in a three-game series against Saint Leo (17-11, 0-3 SSC) in St. Leo, Fla. this weekend. The Sharks will play the first contest this Friday, March 14 at 7 p.m. and follow up with a doubleheader on Saturday at 1 p.m.

The Sharks went 1-3 last weekend, dropping their overall record to 11-12. Despite the losses, the Sharks are currently ranked fourth in the SSC in batting average at .281. Melanie Spicola (Jr., Umatilla, Fla.) is third in the conference for individual batting at .423 while Erika Garcia (Sr., Pembroke Pines) is third in conference with 25 RBI.




The Saint Leo Lions won the 2013 Sunshine State Conference Championship title. They went 40-16 overall and 20-4 in conference and were voted to place second this season. The team features four returning All-SSC players including first-team selections McKenzie Burns and Sarah Steiner.

Recently, the Lions scored 15 runs in a doubleheader sweep against the Adelphi Panthers. The Lions totaled 24 hits on the day to take wins at 5-3 and 10-2. Alana Tabel recorded her first complete game of the year in the first contest, allowing only three hits and one walk, striking out nine.

Saint Leo leads NSU in all-time play, 25-21. Last time the teams met, Samira Tanaka (Sr., Sao Paulo, Brazil) went 4-for-6 in a doubleheader, while Spicola tallied three RBI on two hits. Jennie Von Doellen (Sr., Hudson Bay, Canada) pitched well in the final game of last season's series, striking out four batters and allowing just one earned run.

For the latest NSU news and results, be sure to visit www.NSUSharks.com. To have results sent directly to your cell phone via text message, sign up for SMS text message delivery by clicking here. For the latest news, be sure to sign up for the Shark Alert E-newsletter by clicking here.

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