MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (Apr. 21, 2010) - The Nova Southeastern softball team improved their winning streak to five games with two wins over the St. Thomas Bobcats. The Sharks dominated the first game in a 9-0 shutout and took the second game against the Bobcats, 8-2.
Dani Caron (Sr., Wellington, Fla.) was dominant in the pitching circle during the opening game. She pitched a complete game shutout while allowing only two hits and no walks. She also earned one strike out over 17 batters faced.
On offense, Lauren Lopez (Sr., Miami, Fla.) and Patty Rivero (Sr., Miami, Fla.) carried the load by batting 2-for-3 at the plate. Lopez ended the game with one home run and four RBI while Rivero tallied one triple, two runs, and two RBI.
Lopez kept her momentum going in the second game by going 1-for-2 with a home run, three RBI, and one sacrifice fly. Rachel Talenfeld (Jr., Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) drove in two runs in the contest while Jessica Hernandez (Sr., Miami, Fla.) went 2-for-4 at the plate.
The Sharks had their biggest inning of the day in the second frame of the opening game by scoring six runs. With a runner on second and first, Rivero gave her team the lead with a two run triple to left center field.
Noemi Luciani (Sr., Miami, Fla.) sent Rivero home with a single and Talenfeld reached base on a walk. Lopez wrapped up the side with a three run bomb over the left fielder's head. The shot came on the first pitch of the at bat and scored three runs.
The Sharks struck again by scoring three runs in the next inning. Caron, Rivero, and Luciani loaded the bases and Erica Barrabi (So., Sunrise, Fla.) was called out to pinch hit in a clutch situation. Barrabi made the best of her opportunity by hitting a single up the middle that scored two runs. Lopez hit a single to left field that scored her team's final run of the game.
The Bobcats did not give up after being shut out and took a two run lead in the opening inning of the second game. The Sharks went scoreless over the first two innings but tied the game up in the third. With Talenfeld on first base, Lopez blasted a home run over the left centerfield fence to even the score.
NSU struck again in the fourth by scoring two runs off of Talenfeld's single up the middle. The Sharks increased their lead by scoring in each of the last three innings. After Dana Bergner (Sr., Palm Harbor, Fla.) was hit by a pitch in the fifth inning, Brittany Phillips (Jr., Seminole, Fla.) drove her home with a double to left center field.
Lopez drove in her final run of the day off of a sacrifice fly to left field in the sixth inning. In the final frame, Bergner scored off of a passed ball and Caron closed the show with a sacrifice fly to left field. The Bobcats had multiple runners in scoring position throughout the game but never scored after the first inning.
After a shaky opening inning, Lexi Sarradet (Jr., Miami, Fla.) pitched six shutout innings and earned her 11th win of the season. Over the last six frames, Sarradet only allowed five hits and one walk. She also struck out three batters over her complete game.
The Sharks will take a week off before finishing up Sunshine State Conference play on the road against Lynn Friday, Apr. 30 in a double-header starting at 3 pm.
