LAKELAND, Fla.—After sweeping back-to-back Sun Conference opponents, the Fire will put their unbeaten record on the line against a pair of .500 teams this week. Southeastern will host Edward Waters for a non-conference doubleheader on Tuesday before heading up to Georgia to take on Thomas University in a weekend series.
SERIES INFO:
#4 Southeastern (14-0, 6-0 TSC) vs. Edward Waters College (3-3)
Date: February 20, 2018
Times: 2:00 p.m. (Game 1), 5:00 p.m. (Game 2)
Location: Ted A. Broer Stadium- Lakeland, Fla.
The Fire have stormed out of the gate once again, remaining undefeated through 14 contests. Southeastern will look to tie its phenomenal start from last year with 16 consecutive victories to begin the year when they battle Edward Waters.
Coming off of a series sweep of USCB in which the team's offensive firepower was on display, SEU will look to carry the momentum into a home twinbill with the Tigers.
Junior
Ivan Nunez was a major reason for the Fire's success against the Sand Sharks. Nunez hit for the cycle during the weekend series with USCB, registering a triple during a 7-6 win on Friday night, and a double and a homer during the third game of the series. Serving as the designated hitter, Nunez posted a .444 batting average, drove in five runs and added a 1.111 slugging percentage throughout the series. He also drew two walks to bump his on base percentage to .545.
Not only was the offense firing on all cylinders, but
Jared Crescentini turned in a classy performance through seven innings in the third game of the weekend series against USCB to seal the sweep. The senior struck out nine of the 26 batters he faced, allowing just four hits and a walk to earn his third win of the year. Crescentini has yet to allow an earned run this season, as batters have hit .167 against him.
Taming the Tigers:
Following a series sweep of Brewton-Parker, Edward Waters was swept themselves by Warner to even their record at 3-3.
Offensively, the Tigers are captained by Will Boggs and Jordan Pontius. Boggs has hit a team-high .391 thus far, recording hits in each of the six competitions Edward Waters has completed. Pontius leads EWC in RBIs, knocking in runs in four of the Tigers' contests. Both Boggs and Pontius recorded three-RBI games against Brewton-Parker.
Kamau Richardson has commanded the strike zone in his two starts on the mound this season. The freshman has a team-low 1.54 ERA through 11.2 innings pitched, while allowing only eight hits and two earned runs all season.
Southeastern and Edward Waters have met a total of 17 times, with SEU winning 15 of the matchups. The Fire currently have a ten-game winning streak against the Tigers, last losing 4-3 during the 2010 campaign. Last season, the Fire took both games from the Tigers by scores of 8-1 and 9-2 respectively.
SERIES INFO:
#4 Southeastern (14-0, 6-0 TSC) at Thomas University (7-7, 2-4 TSC)
Dates: February 23-24, 2018
Times: Friday- 6:00 p.m., Saturday- 12:00 p.m. (Game 1), 3:00 p.m. (Game 2)
Location: Thomasville, Ga.
Thomas:
After dropping their opening Sun Conference series to Florida Memorial, the Night Hawks took the last two games of their action with No. 10 Keiser to pick up their first conference wins of the season.
???????Jalbert Melo continues to captain Thomas' offense, leading the Night Hawks with a .405 batting average. The senior from Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic reached base in 11 of his 14 plate appearances in the series with the Seahawks, scoring six runs on the weekend. He batted .667 with five walks and a homer, including a perfect 4-4 with four runs scored in game two, giving the Night Hawks the series win in West Palm Beach.
On the mound, Daniel Williams has been a dominant force. He threw a complete game in the Night Hawks 4-1 triumph over Keiser, shutting down a Seahawk offense that had scored 24 runs in the previous two games of the series. The senior currently carries a 1.69 ERA through 26.2 innings, which leads Thomas, and has struck out 25 hitters while giving up a mere five walks.
The Fire have taken 14 of the 17 all-time matchups with the Night Hawks, winning eight of the past nine meetings. During the 17 games, Southeastern has outscored Thomas 115-72. Last season, the Fire swept TU with 9-4, 6-5, and 8-7 wins.
Game Coverage:
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