GAME ONE BOX | GAME TWO BOX

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – The Nova Southeastern softball team (33-22, 13-10 SSC) and No. 5 Tampa (36-6, 21-3 SSC) ended the 2012 regular season Saturday with the teams splitting a doubleheader. The Spartans took game one, 2-0, but the Sharks rebounded to win the series and regular-season finale, 5-4. Sara DeMuth (Sr., Plant City, Fla.) picked up win 26 in the circle to set a new NSU single-season record, while classmate Katie Kelton (Pembroke Pines, Fla.) became the 15th player in program history to finish a season with a 1.000 fielding percentage. Kelton started all 55 games in centerfield for NSU this season.
 
DeMuth and Kelton, the lone seniors for NSU, were each recognized prior to first pitch Saturday for their contributions to the program. Photos of the ceremony can be found below.

 
Game One Recap
Both the Sharks and Spartans managed just a pair of hits, but Tampa would capitalize on a home run and a NSU error to plate two runs and capture Saturday’s opener, 2-0.
 
The Spartans first run came in the top of the first inning when Becky Vyzas sent a 2-2 pitch over the left field wall.
 
The offenses for both teams went stagnant for much of the next few innings before Tampa could double their lead to 2-0 in the fifth. Meagan Burke was hit by a pitch to start the inning and then Katlyn Raatz reached via a Sharks’ error. Taylor Storey provided a single through the left side and Burke was able to race home for Tampa’s second run.
 
Kayla Cox, Tampa’s starting pitcher struck out four Sharks over the next three innings to bring her game total to eight, keeping NSU off the scoreboard and ensuring a 2-0 victory for Tampa.
 
Lorena Spaulding (Fr., Pembroke Pines, Fla.) and Gina Bondarenko (So., Pembroke Pines, Fla.) registered the Sharks’ only hits of the game. DeMuth took the loss, despite throwing a two-hitter with four strikeouts.
 
Game Two Recap
The Sharks rallied from a 4-0 deficit to knock off the Spartans, 5-4, to close the 2012 regular season with a victory. DeMuth tallied eight strikeouts en route to her 26th win of the season, setting a new program record for wins in a single-season.
 
The Spartans jumped out to an early 4-0 lead, scoring one run in the first and three in the second. Stacy Piagno’s infield single in the first inning scored Vyzas to put Tampa ahead 1-0 after one inning of play.
 
Kayleen Boatwright garnered credit for the first RBI of the second inning on a single through the left side before Vyzas knocked her second hit of the game, a two-RBI base hit to right field.
 
The Sharks got one run back in the bottom half of the second to close the gap to 4-1. DeMuth walked with one out and two batters later was driven home for NSU’s first run of the series on a Chelsea Emery (Jr., Eustis, Fla.) single.
 
NSU cut the deficit in half with another tally in the third. Jaimee Vega (Jr., Loxahatchee, Fla.) and Spaulding opened the inning with back-to-back singles and each moved up a base on a Kelton sacrifice. Laura Saladrigas (Jr., Hollywood, Fla.) then hit a hard single to deep short that plated Vega and moved the Sharks within two runs, 4-2.
 
The fourth inning mimicked the prior two, as the Sharks cut the gap to just one, 4-3, with another run scored. Melanie Spicola (Fr., Umatilla, Fla.) led off with an infield single and was able to race over to third on Emery’s bunt single. Spicola crossed the plate when a shallow pop fly off the bat of Raven Sepulveda (Fr., Tampa, Fla.) was bobbled by the Spartans’ right fielder.
 
The fifth inning saw the Sharks take their first lead of the series, scoring two runs to go up 5-4 on the Spartans. It took only two batters for the Sharks to tie the game, as Kelton bunt singled to lead off and was then able to score from first on a Saladrigas’ double that landed on the left field warning track.
 
A Tampa pitching change could not stop the momentum Kelton and Saladrigas created, as Bondarenko followed suit with a double of her own to left, scoring Saladrigas and putting the Sharks ahead.
 
The Spartans had a shot in the sixth inning to tie or take the lead, placing runners on second and third with one out, but DeMuth rang up the next two batters to get NSU out of the jam. DeMuth would add one more strikeout to her count in the seventh, bringing her game count to eight, and the Sharks were able to win the final game of their 2012 regular season over the top-five Spartans, 5-4.
 
With 12 strikeouts Saturday, DeMuth improved her season total to 330, while Kelton converted her three putout attempts, going a perfect 68-for-68 on the season as the Shark’s starting centerfielder for every game this season.
 
The seniors and the rest of the Sharks will turn their attention to Monday’s NCAA Division-II softball selection show, set to be shown live at 10 a.m. on NCAA.com. NSU, ranked eighth in the latest regional poll, will be seeking an at-large bid to the South Region tournament. It would mark the third time in four seasons the Sharks advanced to post-season play.

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