GAME ONE BOX | GAME TWO BOX
MELBOURNE, Fla. – The No. 25 Nova Southeastern baseball team (11-4, 1-1 SSC) spilt its Sunshine State Conference opening doubleheader Saturday against the Florida Tech Panthers (13-8, 2-3 SSC), winning 3-1 and losing 7-2, in Melbourne, Fla.
GAME ONE
Zachary Westcott (So., Weston, Fla.) made his SSC debut by winning a complete game in the Sharks’ 3-1 defeat of Florida Tech. Westcott extended his record to 4-0 by holding the Panthers to one run and five hits. He struck out two batters in the contest and only walked two Panthers. He held a groundout/fly out ratio of 13/11. Westcott brought his ERA to 2.08 and now has an opposing batting average of .227.
Offensively,
Chris Morales (Jr., Miami, Fla.) and
Carlos Asuaje (So., Weston, Fla.) led the way as they each went 2-for-4 with a run scored. Morales also recorded an RBI.
Scott Woodrey (Sr., Lighthouse Point, Fla.) went 1-for-4 with two RBI.
Westcott held the Panthers scoreless for the first seven innings and allowed the Sharks to build a lead. NSU jumped on the board with three runs in the third inning, the only frame in which the visiting team scored in. Asuaje started the rally with a walk before stealing second base. Morales singled to left centerfield, scoring Asuaje, and
Areo Regoli (Sr., Homestead, Fla.) followed up by reaching base on balls.
Woodrey then came through with the team’s biggest hit of the game, a single down the right field line. Woodrey drove home the two deciding runs on the play. Over the rest of the game, the Sharks would accumulate five more hits while stranding six runners on base. Despite being held from crossing the plate, the Sharks’ three runs were good enough as Westcott closed the show by only allowing one run in the eighth frame.
GAME TWO
The Sharks continued to put runners on base in the second game of the doubleheader but struggled to score, as FIT won the seven-inning game, 7-2. Woodrey and
Alex Marrero (Jr., Miami, Fla.) each went 2-for-3 in the game while Woodrey batted in two runs. Asuaje went 2-for-4 with a run scored.
NSU outhit the Panthers, 9-8, but could not convert them into runs. The Sharks were blanked for the first six innings before scoring two runs in the seventh. Over the doubleheader, NSU went 12 straight innings without scoring a run. NSU stranded nine runners on base and batted into three double plays in the contest. Florida Tech did not leave a runner on base in the game.
The Panthers took a one-run lead in the third inning on an unearned run. The home squad built upon that lead in the fifth frame, scoring its final six runs. Four of the six runs came with two outs on the board.
NSU posted two runs on the board in the final inning.
Kevin Reynolds (So., Fort Myers, Fla.) pinch hit and started the rally with a single through the left side, his fourth hit in five at bats. Asuaje sent the ball over the third basemen’s head to follow up, while
Nikko Echevarria (Sr., Abqaib, Saudi Arabia) pinch hit and loaded the bases.
Woodrey brought home two runs on a single down the left field line, bringing his season RBI total to 14. Woodrey is now batting a team-best .429 over 28 at bats.
Mitchell Buerosse (Jr., Lighthouse Point, Fla.) (0-1) earned the loss, as he pitched 4.2 innings and gave up three earned runs and five hits in his third appearance for NSU.
The weekend series will be decided Sunday when the Sharks take on the Panthers in Melbourne, Fla. in a rubber match beginning at noon.
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