GAME ONE BOX|GAME TWO BOX
COLUMBUS, Ga. – The Nova Southeastern softball team (14-10) swept the Cougars of Columbus State (10-7) Monday at Cougar Field in Columbus, Ga.
Sara DeMuth (Sr., Plant City, Fla.) threw a one-hit shutout in the first game for a 2-0 NSU win and then picked up win number two of the day as the Sharks captured an 8-5 win.
Gina Bondarenko (So., Pembroke Pines, Fla.) tallied four RBI on the day.
Game One Recap
DeMuth struck out 12 CSU batters, while giving up only one hit, as NSU downed the Cougars 2-0. The Sharks snapped CSU’s six-game win streak and the two runs NSU posted in the sixth represented the first runs allowed by the Cougars in 42 innings.
The best chance for the Sharks early in the game came in the top of the third.
Melanie Spicola (Fr., Umatilla, Fla.) was awarded first after seeing four balls and
Lorena Spaulding (Fr., Pembroke Pines, Fla.) reached on an infield single to give NSU two base runners with one out. The Sharks though could not produce any runs in the inning.
DeMuth continued to do her part through the first five innings, sitting down nine batters and allowing just one hit in the fourth inning. That base runner was then thrown out by Bondarenko to clear the bases and erase any threat by CSU.
NSU took the lead in the top of the sixth, plating two runs with an excellent showing of small ball. Spaulding led off with an infield single to third base and then stole second.
Jaimee Vega (Jr., Loxahatchee, Fla.) followed with a single through the left side and advanced to second on a piece of heads up base running.
Katie Kelton (Sr., Pembroke Pines, Fla.) then came up and hit a hard grounder off the pitcher’s glove, which allowed Spaulding to score. Bondarenko followed with a ground out to short stop, but it gave Vega enough time to score from third and put NSU ahead 2-0.
CSU had one last chance in the bottom of the seventh, receiving an extra out as strike three on the third out got away from Bondarenko. DeMuth though closed the door quickly, striking out her 12th batter of the game. Spaulding finished the game 3-for-3 with a run scored. Vega had the only other hit for the Sharks, while also scoring the second run.
Game Two Recap
The Sharks scored eight runs on nine hits, while DeMuth picked up her second win of the day in the circle, as NSU downed CSU 8-5.
NSU wasted no time getting on the board in the second game. With Vega on second after a stolen base, Bondarenko roped a double down the right field line that put the Sharks up 1-0 before CSU even had a chance at the plate.
The Cougars fired right back in the bottom half of the inning with a pair of runs. With the bases loaded Morgan Staffins lined a shot out to centerfield that landed for a two RBI single.
After a scoreless second inning, the Sharks regained the lead in the third with two runs. With Kelton on second and Vega at third, Bondarenko hit into a fielder’s choice to the shortstop who attempted to throw out Vega at home, but she was under the tag. Bondarenko then got into a run down between first and second, giving Kelton the opportunity to score herself.
Sloppy fielding on the part of Columbus State allowed the Sharks to add another run in the fifth. Vega reached, and advanced to second, on an error charged to the shortstop and then scored from second on a wild pitch followed by a passed ball.
The NSU advantage became five runs, 8-3, after the top of the seventh inning as the Sharks scored two runs in the top of the sixth and seventh, while CSU score one in the bottom of the sixth. The Sharks’ runs in the seventh inning came with two outs, as
Dani Millan (So., Ventura, Calif.) hit a base hit to centerfield to drive in two.
CSU trimmed the deficit by two in the bottom of the seventh and had the bases loaded, but the Sharks held on for an 8-5 victory. Bondarenko ended the game with three RBI, while Laura Saladrigas was the lone Shark with more than one hit, as she went 2-for-3 from the plate. DeMuth finished game two with seven strikeouts, bring her tally for both games to 19.
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