BOX SCORE

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – The Nova Southeastern baseball team (32-14, 16-5 SSC) tied the program record for most runs scored during the NCAA era as the Sharks defeated the No. 13 Florida Southern Mocs (27-15, 11-7 SSC) Tuesday at the NSU Baseball Complex, 24-15.

The Sharks’ 16 wins in the Sunshine State Conference is the highest mark in program history, surpassing the record the team broke last season. With the win, the Sharks sweep the Mocs in a conference series for the first time in program history.

Despite the abundance of runs, the win came in come-from-behind fashion as the Sharks trailed, 10-5, headed into the bottom of the fourth inning. The Sharks answered with their biggest inning of the season as they scored 10 runs. It was the first double-digit scoring frame for NSU since Feb. 29, 2008 when the Sharks scored 10 runs in the second inning at home against Newberry. The Sharks came out and scored eight more runs in the fifth to lead the game, 23-11.

The Sharks hit a season-high six home runs in the game, the most since NSU hit eight on the road against Eckerd on April 10, 2009. Andrew Durden (Sr., Port St. Lucie, Fla.) hit two home runs for his first multiple homer game as a Shark. The first home run was also his team’s first hit as he drove in two runs in the first inning to give NSU a two-run lead. Areo Regoli (Jr., Homestead, Fla.), who went 3-for-4 with two runs and a RBI, hit his team’s second home run in the very next at bat. It was Regoli’s seventh home run of the season and 36th RBI.

Durden hit another home run in the Sharks’ 10-run fourth inning, this time driving home three runs. It was Durden’s team-high 14th homer of the season. Durden now leads the team with a .380 batting average, a .749 slugging percentage and a .448 on-base percentage.

Blake Boyd (So., Jupiter, Fla.) hit the first home run of his career on a three-run bomb over left centerfield in the fourth inning. Boyd entered the season without an extra base hit in his career and is now slugging .390 on the year. 

Daniel Petitbon (Jr., Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) had the biggest hit of the game with his first collegiate grand slam in the fifth inning. Petitbon blasted his sixth home run of the season over left field and plated Nikko Echevarria (Jr., Abqaib, Saudi Arabia), Carlos Asuaje (Fr., Weston, Fla.) and Anthony Angulo (Jr., Homestead, Fla.).

Echevarria, who entered the year without a home run since his freshman season in 2008, also contributed to the slugfest with his third home run of the season in the second inning. It was Echevarria’s first home run at the NSU Baseball Complex as his other home runs were hit at Lynn and Saint Leo.

Asuaje, Dusty Maggs (Sr., Satellite Beach, Fla.) and Luis Penate (Sr., Miami, Fla.) all tied the team-high of three hits in the game. Penate and Asuaje each scored three runs and drove in one while Maggs recorded two runs and two RBI. Angulo, who entered the game in the fourth inning, went 2-for-4 with three runs scored and two RBI.

The Sharks faced seven pitchers in the game and had multiple hits against all but one of them. The Sharks mowed down four pitchers before the start of the fifth inning. Four Moc pitchers gave up at least four earned runs in the game.

Ralph Pena (So., Miami, Fla.) (1-0) picked up his first collegiate win by holding the Sharks to one hit in the fourth inning. Pitching in the last home game of his career, Torey Ekey (Sr., Merritt Island, Fla.) made his SSC-best 24th appearance and did not allow an earned run over two innings pitched.

In the end, the Sharks set season-highs with 24 runs, six home runs, 23 RBI and 43 total bases.

Now that Barry has clinched the SSC title, the Sharks will move on to begin a weekend series against Lynn this Friday, May 6 in Boca Raton, Fla. in an effort to strengthen their case for an at-large bid in the NCAA South Regional Tournament.