Baseball | 2/20/2020 12:00:00 PM

MIAMI SHORES, Fla. – The Barry Buccaneers, off to the best start in school history, open up Sunshine State Conference play this weekend as they host the Nova Southeastern Sharks at Feinbloom Field, Friday-Sunday, Feb. 21-23. 

The Bucs (8-0) are the last unbeaten team in the South Region, rising from 10th in the  NCBWA pre-season poll to third in the current edition. Barry defeated American International in one game last weekend, being rained out in the other two and were off this week. The Sharks (3-7), are ranked ninth after dropping from third. NSU dropped two of three to 15th-ranked Newberry over the weekend, then fell 7-6 in 14 innings to Palm Beach Atlantic on Tuesday. The teams have only one common opponent so far in NAIA #2-ranked St. Thomas. The Bucs defeated the bobcats 8-6 in 10 innings on the road, while the Sharks lost 4-3 at home.

Barry has posted outstanding numbers this season, leading the SSC in both batting and ERA. The Bucs' three conference starters have not allowed an earned run in seven starts this season, striking out 37 and walking nine in 38.0 innings, while holding the opposition to a .152 batting average. The Bucs' 1.52 ERA is 78 points lower than second-place Rollins. Senior right-hander Myles Gayman leads the team with a 3-0 record and 19 strikeouts in 17.0 innings. Offensively, the Bucs are batting .348, 40 points higher than second place Embry-Riddle, while scoring a league-best 9.75 runs per game. Andrew Rapoza (.483/.862), Ariel Diaz (.469/.719) and Freddie Matos (.448/.758) are all in the top-10 in the conference in batting and slugging. Rapoza also leads the league with a .605 on-base percentage from his lead off slot. Chris Cabrera leads the team with 13 RBI.

The Sharks are batting .260 as a team, averaging 5.3 runs per game. From the mound, they have a 5.44 ERA with 83 strikeouts in 92.2 innings. Nathan Campbell (0-1, 4.85 ERA) and Duncan Pastore (0-1, 14.04 ERA) have been the only two pitchers to start each week. JP Williams (0-0, 0.00 ERA) has not allowed a run in two starts, but has totaled just six innings. Offensively, Pastore has been the leader, batting .400, with a team-high six doubles and eight runs. Adan Fernandez (.359) leads the team with two homers and 10 RBI. 

If you would like to keep up with all the action from the series, but can't make it out to the field, follow the links below:

Inside the Matchup:

Series record: Barry leads 56-48-1
Season records: Barry 8-0, 0-0 SSC; NSU 3-7, 0-0 SSC
In Miami Shores: Barry leads 29-19