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WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – The Nova Southeastern University softball team (3-1) split with the Palm Beach Atlantic Sailfish (1-1) Tuesday, Feb. 5 at Lake Catherine Field. The Sharks fell just short in game one by a score of 2-1 but came back and showed resilience, beating PBA, 6-3, in the second game.
“I am happy with the way we bounced back after game one to get a split,” said head coach Lesa Boneè. “It was a big regional win and we need every one we can get.”
After struggling from behind the plate in game one,
Ashley Silveira (Sr., Miami, Fla.) brought in three runs in the second game and
Erika Garcia (Jr., Pembroke Pines, Fla.) was 2-for-4 with a run of her own.
GAME ONE
Game one of the doubleheader was a pitcher’s duel through three innings, much like the first game of the St. Thomas series.
Jennie Von Doellen (Jr., Hudson Bay, Canada) (1-1) recorded six strikeouts through the first three innings and finished with eight in six innings pitched. However, PBA’s Amber Johnson (1-0) was equally as impressive allowing two hits and only one run, coming in the top of the seventh.
The scoring for PBA came in the fourth inning, as the Sailfish bats initially came through. The middle of the order produced three hits off of Van Doellen, including a Lindsey Johnson single that split third and the shortstop and brought home Camille Benito. PBA tallied a run later in the inning to widen the score to 2-0.
The Sharks were looking for some seventh inning heroics, with
Laura Saladrigas (Sr., Hollywood, Fla.) leading off for NSU. Saladrigas drilled a ball down the left field line to the fence, however, the All-American was tagged trying to stretch to third base.
The game was kept alive in the same inning, after Garcia was hit by a pitch and
Shelby Talon (Fr., Boynton Beach, Fla.) was walked. With two on and two outs, Silveira singled with a line drive into left field, which brought in the pinch runner,
Chrissy Tabulov (Fr., Palm Harbor, Fla.). However, the game came to a quick end when Talon tried to reach third from first, but was thrown out from left field to end the game.
GAME TWO
Three run innings in the fourth and fifth from the Sharks were two much for the Sailfish to overcome in the latter of the doubleheader. Saladrigas pitched 5.1 innings and Garcia recorded the first save of the season for NSU. Saladrigas recorded four strike outs, while Garcia sealed the win by holding the home team to one hit.
After going down, 1-0, after a PBA homerun in the third inning, the Sharks’ batters came alive. With two outs in the top of the fourth, Garcia sparked the offense with a single up the middle to advance
Chelsea Emery (Eustis, Fla.) from first to second. Silveira then ripped a two-run double into right center field, giving the Sharks its first lead of the evening, 2-1. Silviera later made it home on a fielding error on PBA, pushing the Shark’s first lead of the night to 3-1.
In the fifth inning, a throwing error by the Sailfish third baseman turned a would be sacrifice bunt by
Samira Tanaka (Jr., Sao Paulo, Brazil) into two runs coming home for the Sharks.
Lorena Spaulding (So., Pembroke Pines, Fla.) and
Melanie Spicola (So., Umatilla, Fla.) each scored on the play. The final run of the game came when Silveira was walked with the bases loaded, bringing Tanaka home to score the final run in the Sharks’ first regional win.
The Sharks will travel to Clearwater, Fla. to participate in the Eckerd College Tournament, with the first game slated for 12:30 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 8 against Georgia College.
