GAME ONE BOX | GAME TWO BOX
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – The Nova Southeastern baseball team (16-8) took their first Sunshine State Conference series on the road Saturday against the Eckerd Tritons in a doubleheader, which included a first-game season-high blowout for the Sharks, 26-2.
The first game output included a season-high 30 hits and 25 RBI, and the Sharks completed the sweep with a second game 9-2 victory.
Kavan Thompson (Fr., Melbourne, Fla.) was a perfect 9-for-9 on the day, including six hits in game one.
GAME ONE
The Sharks had a phenomenal offensive day in game one of the doubleheader, registering a season-high 26 runs on 30 hits with 25 RBI. Thompson had a season-standout performance, batting a perfect 6-for-6 with one run scored and four RBI. Also making a strong contribution for NSU offensively was
Kevin Reynolds (Jr., Ft. Myers, Fla.) and
Brandon Sedell (So. Davie, Fla.). Reynolds went 4-for-5 with an outstanding five RBI and one run scored, while Sedell added four RBI of his own off three hits in the contest.
Not only was the offense firing on all cylinders, but the Sharks' pitching staff shut down the Tritons in dominant fashion.
Zachary Westcott (Jr., Weston, Fla.) (2-1) got the nod for the start and captured his second win of the season on the hill, holding the Tritons to only two runs on six hits and registering five strikeouts in his five-inning campaign. Three additional pitchers,
Alexander Kline (Fr., Coral Springs, Fla.),
Casey Kopec (Fr., Coral Springs, Fla.) and
Cody Stiles (Sr., Coral Springs) came in as relief, pitching a combined four hitless innings, facing 15 at the plate while striking out more than half with eight total.
NSU drew first blood in the contest, lighting the board twice in the first two innings. In the first, it was an RBI single to left field by Sedell, which scored
Angel Navarro (So., Miami Lakes, Fla.) from second. The second run was as a result of four errors in the top of the second to extend the lead to 2-0.
After two scoreless innings, the Sharks bats came alive. NSU put up six runs in the top of the fourth with two of them coming from the bat of Reynolds on a hard-hit double to left field, scoring Sedell from third and
Brett Clements (Sr., Riverview, Fla.) from second. The Sharks then extended the lead to eight after a single to the outfield scored Reynolds from second to end the scoring.
Eckerd finally responded in the bottom half of the fourth, putting up two runs to cut the lead to six, 8-2. The Sharks responded immediately in the next inning, putting up yet another six runs to put the game far out of reach for the Tritons at 14-2.
NSU refused to take their foot off the gas, holding the Tritons scoreless throughout the remaining four and a half innings and outscoring them in that tim, 18-0, to capture the first game, 26-2.
GAME TWO
The Sharks completed the stellar day with a win in the seven-inning nightcap, clinching their first SSC series of the season. Thompson completed his perfect day at the plate, going 3-for-3 in game two with two runs and a RBI.
Jose Rodriguez (Sr., Hialeah, Fla.) also continued his early-season success, with a team-best three RBI on 1-for-3 batting.
Mitchell Buerosse (Jr., Lighthouse Point, Fla.) (2-2) threw four no-hit innings to earn himself the victory. He shut out the Tritons in a game that would decide the series victor while also striking out four batters. Buerosse, who is coming off a season-ending injury last season, was pulled after four innings with the Sharks leading comfortably, 5-0. Three Sharks pitched the rest of the game, holding Eckerd to only two runs down the stretch.
The Sharks were at it again right off the get-go, scoring a run in the first off an RBI single to right field by Reynolds, which scored Navarro. The sophomore himself had reached on a single, advanced on a sacrifice bunt and moved to third on a stolen base.
NSU tallied once again in the second on a single through the right side by Thompson, which scored
Michael Melendez (So., Miramar, Fla.) from second. Melendez had doubled to center field during his at-bat .
Much like the first game, NSU was able to shut out the Tritons with outstanding work from the mound and a strong field presence. NSU had their highest-scoring inning in the top of the fourth, scoring three runs to extend their lead to five, 5-0.
The fourth started with an RBI double to left field by
Eric Acevedo (Sr., Miami, Fla.) which scored Melendez, who had reached on a throwing error. Rodriguez took care of the remaining runs on a double to left field which scored two more Sharks, Navarro and Acevedo, to end the inning and take the five-run lead.
The Tritons finally tallied a score in the bottom of the sixth but their runs were doubled by NSU in the remaining two innings as they outscored EC 4-2, to capture their first SSC series win with a final score of 9-2.
The Sharks will return home to play Franklin Pierce at the NSU Baseball Complex with the first pitch scheduled for 5 p.m.
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