GAME ONE BOX | GAME TWO BOX
BOCA RATON, Fla. – The Nova Southeastern softball team (28-19, 10-7 SSC) held the Lynn Fighting Knights (2-38, 1-16 SSC) to one run through two games en route to a pair of Sunshine State Conference victories Saturday. The Sharks held Lynn scoreless in the first game, 6-0, and then picked up a 3-1 win in game two.
Sara DeMuth (Sr., Plant City, Fla.) has now thrown more innings in a single season than any other pitcher in Sharks history with 229.1 this season, while earning both wins today.
Game One Recap
DeMuth sat down 11 Lynn batters to improve her season total to 270 and Laura Saladrigas hit her 12th homer of the season to push the Sharks to a 6-0 win. DeMuth, who was 11th in the nation in shutouts coming into the Lynn series, registered her ninth of the season in the victory.
The Sharks took an early 1-0 lead in the top of the second inning, as
Gina Bondarenko (So., Pembroke Pines, Fla.) led off the inning with a single and was able to score three batters later on a wild pitch.
The teams would trade zeros until the fifth inning when the Sharks doubled their lead to 2-0. With two outs,
Jaimee Vega (Jr., Loxahatchee, Fla.) roped a triple down the right field line to score
Katie Kelton (Sr., Pembroke Pines, Fla.).
DeMuth sat down the side in the bottom of the sixth to advance the game to the final inning where NSU would blow open its lead.
The first run of the seventh came with the bases loaded and
Lorena Spaulding (Fr., Pembroke Pines, Fla.) hitting a sacrifice fly to deep center to score DeMuth. Two batters later, the Sharks added three more tallies to their side of the scoreboard with one swing of the bat by Saladrigas. With runners on second and third, Saladrigas rocketed a 0-1 pitch over the left field wall.
The homerun gives Saladrigas 12 this season, tying the Sharks’ single-season record. She is now only two shy of the career record at NSU of 21 held by Lauren Lopez.
DeMuth would strike out two more in the bottom of the seventh and the Sharks would take game one, 6-0. Kelton and Vega each finished the game with two hits and a run scored, while Vega also notched a RBI.
Game Two Recap
Bondarenko drove in a pair of runs and DeMuth struck out nine Fighting Knights, as the Sharks topped Lynn, 3-1 in game two Saturday.
The game opened with a pair of scoreless innings, with the Sharks then getting one run in each of the next three. Gina Bondarenko opened up the scoring in the top of the third with a single to right field that plated Spicola, giving NSU a 1-0 advantage.
Bondarenko came right back in the fourth with another RBI. After the inning was kept alive on an error by Lynn’s third baseman, the Sharks loaded the bases with back-to-back walks. Bondarenko took ball four on a 3-1 count to bring in Spaulding.
The Sharks scored again in the fifth without the use of a hit, as Marissa Raimo was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded, forcing home DeMuth. That run extended the Sharks lead to 3-0.
Lynn got one run back in the sixth inning, as Kaci Vassallo knocked a single to center to score Bianca Savulak from third and close the gap to 3-1. It would be the only run the Fighting Knights would get though, as DeMuth would close out the game with her ninth strikeout of the game and the 400th of her career. She becomes only the fourth player in school history to eclipse the 400 strikeout mark in her NSU career.
The margin of victory could have been much larger in favor of NSU, as the Sharks stranded 16 batters in the game, leaving the bases loaded at the end of four innings.
Kelton finished the game 2-for-3, going 4-for-6 through the doubleheader to pace the Sharks offensively.
DeMuth, who became just the seventh Shark to win at least 20 games in a season in program history with two victories today, recorded 20 strikeouts in 14 innings of work. With those 14 innings, DeMuth has now pitched more innings a single season than any other Shark in program history. The senior has thrown 229,1 innings, passing Lexi Sarradet’s 2009 record of 228.
The Sharks and Fighting Knights will be back on the field tomorrow for the final game of the three-game series. First pitch is slated for 11 a.m. at the McCusker Sports Complex.
For the latest NSU news and results, be sure to visit
www.NSUSharks.com. To have results sent directly to your cell phone via text message, sign up for SMS text message delivery by
clicking here. For the latest news, be sure to sign up for the Shark Alert E-newsletter by
clicking here.
