Box Score 1 |
Box Score 2 BOX SCORE GAME ONE | BOX SCORE GAME TWO
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – The Nova Southeastern softball team (12-10, 1-2 SSC) split Saturday's doubleheader with the No. 8 Rollins Tars (21-2, 2-1 SSC), stunning the visitors with a mercy-rule win in game one, 9-1 in six innings, and falling 2-0 in the latter contest.
Jennie Von Doellen (Jr., Hudson Bay, Fla.) (10-7) had another solid performance in the circle, pitching two complete games, striking out 10 total batters and only allowing two earned runs.
Laura Saladrigas (Sr., Hollywood, Fla.) continued to add to the NSU record books on Saturday, hitting her 23rd career home run in game one. Saldrigas had a hit in each game and knocked in three Shark runs.
Chrissy Tabulov (Fr., Palm Harbor, Fla.) had two RBI on her one hit of the day.
The Sharks' game one win today was the first against the Tars since 2009.
Game One
The first game of the doubleheader was a pitcher’s duel until the sixth inning, when the Sharks’ bats exploded, scoring eight runs to end the game early.
NSU got on the board first, in the first inning, when
Erika Garcia (Jr., Pembroke Pines, Fla.) drilled a single just inside the left field line to bring home Tabulov from second.
After no runs from either team in the second inning, Rollins tied up the score in the top of the third off a Kristie Hoeffer RBI double that went through the left side.
It looked like this game would come down to the final pitches after the fourth and fifth innings saw only two hits combined. However, in the bottom of the sixth, Saladrigas led off with a walk and was immediately sent to third on a double by Garcia. Saladrigas was able to advance home on a wild pitch to
Ashley Silveira (Sr., Miami, Fla) for the inning's first run.
Dani Millan (Jr., Ventura, Calif.) then recorded her second RBI of the season, hitting a ball up the middle to bring home pinch runner
Elizabeth Spring (Fr., West Palm Beach, Fla.) to give the Sharks a 3-1 lead.
After two straight walks to load the bases,
Samira Tanaka (Jr., Sao Paulo, Fla.) was walked as well, scoring Millan. Tabulov’s two-run single came during the next at-bat, bringing in both
Lorena Spaulding (So., Pembroke Pines, Fla.) and
Melanie Spicola (So., Umatilla, Fla.) to make it 6-1.
With two on and two out, Saladrigas stepped in for the second time in the inning. It proved to be the final at-bat of the game, as Saladrigas crushed a pitch over the scoreboard in left-center field for a three-run home run, handing the Tars their first loss in 12 games.
Game Two
The Sharks were stumped again by Rollins ace Niki Fogle (10-0), who didn’t allow a run in either of her two games she pitched this weekend for the Tars. Fogle struck out nine Sharks on Saturday.
Rollins scored in the first inning on a Hoeffer sacrifice fly. Their final run came in the sixth, when Aimee Halpin caught the Sharks' outfield shifted to the left, crushing a ball down the right field line, giving her enough time to score an inside-the-park home run.
NSU only managed two hits against the freshman Fogle, one coming during the first at-bat of the game, when Spaulding placed a great bunt down the line and beat out the throw to first. The second hit came in the final inning, a Saladrigas single up the middle.
NSU’s defense proved to be much better Saturday, recording only one error in the doubleheader, compared to the six they had in the loss in Friday night's opener.
The Sharks will travel to Florida Tech for a weekday series against the Panthers, starting Tuesday, March 5 at 3 p.m., and concluding with a doubleheader the following day, beginning at 1 p.m.
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