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FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – The Nova Southeastern University softball travels for the middle leg of their nine-game road trip as they take on Florida Southern in Lakeland, Florida, beginning with the series opener Friday night at 7 p.m.
The Sharks (14-20, 2-13 SSC) are looking directly up in the conference standings at the Mocs (17-25, 3-12 SSC), who took 2-of-3 from Florida Tech last weekend, and had a doubleheader split Tuesday against out-of-conference foe Warner. Their series-opening win against FIT snapped a five-game overall losing streak, and the team had previously lost 11 of their first 12 SSC matchups.
Leah Pemberton is the Mocs' top hitter at .396 (eighth in the SSC), with five of the team's six home runs and 31 RBI, more than double anyone else on the team. Brandi Jones has 11 of the team's 17 wins and a squad-best 2.03 ERA, along with 155 strikeouts (fourth highest in the league) in 152 innings pitched.
Shark first baseman
Katrina Ammons (Sr., Jacksonville, Fla.) continues her ascent towards a .400 season average, currently coming in at .385 along with four home runs and 22 RBI (both tops on the team). The rest of her slash line is also impressive at .a 462 OBP (eighth in the SSC) and .608 slugging (sixth).
Maegan Lee (Sr., Miami) has a .311 batting average, and with five walks in one night against Barry, increased her OBP to an even .400.
In the circle,
Rebecca Thornton (So., Lodi, Calif.) saw her ERA drop even further after two appearances at Barry, to 2.17 on the year. Opposing hitters are batting just .248 against her on the season.
Following Friday's opener, the series is scheduled to wrap up Saturday afternoon with a 1 p.m. doubleheader start. Stay tuned here and @NSUSharks on Twitter for further updates.
