Box Score 1 |
Box Score 2 GAME ONE BOX | GAME TWO BOX
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – The Nova Southeastern softball team (25-26) took both games in the doubleheader against the Northwood Seahawks (11-33) in West Palm Beach, Fla. at Alumni Field. The Sharks won an exciting first game, 6-3, in eight innings, then took care of business in game two, with a 15-2 victory.
Chelsea Emery (Sr., Eustis, Fla.) had a career series in the final road trip of her collegiate career, going 6-for-9 with six RBI.
GAME ONE
The Sharks ended a tightly contested game in extra innings, dominating the eighth frame, scoring three runs.
Northwood started the game with confidence, scoring the first run in the second inning.
The Sharks took the lead in the fourth on a two-run single from Emery.
Samira Tanaka (Jr., Sao Paulo, Brazil) started the inning off with a bunt single toward the third base line. After Tanaka advanced on a passed ball,
Erika Garcia (Jr., Pembroke Pines, Fla.) was walked in five pitches. A sacrifice bunt from
Melanie Spicola (So., Umatilla, Fla.) moved both runners into scoring position before Emery hit the big two-out single to give the Sharks a 2-1 lead.
The Seahawks tied the game back up in the fifth on a sacrifice fly to even the score at 2-2.
NSU retook the lead in the seventh on a bizarre series of events.
Lorena Spaulding (Jr., Pembroke Pines, Fla.) dropped a bunt to the pitcher, who overthrew the first basemen. Spaulding then advanced all the way to third, however, the ball thrown over from first was not controlled by the third basemen, allowing Spaulding to score and give the Sharks a one-run lead.
The Sharks could not hold the lead after a two-out error from NSU’s defense, allowed the tying run to score to send the game into extra innings.
Extra’s was all NSU, with a game-high three runs in the top of the eighth. Tanaka started at second base for the Sharks because of the International Tiebreaker Rule. Saladrigas led off the inning with a single to left and advanced to second on the throw, moving Tanaka to third. Garcia brought in the go-ahead run on a sac fly to left field, making the score 4-3. Spicola kept the pressure on the Seahawks, hitting into a fielder’s choice, allowing Saladrigas to beat the throw home and giving the Sharks a 5-3 lead. Emery recorded her third RBI of the game with a single up the middle, to bring Spicola home from second for the final run of the game.
Jennie Von Doellen (Jr., Hudson Bay, Canada) picked up the win after she came in for Garcia, with one in the fifth. Von Doellen pitched 3.2 innings, allowing only two hits with six strikeouts.
GAME TWO
The Sharks struck first in a big way in the second inning, scoring seven of its 15 runs. Emery started the inning with a base hit to right field and moved to second on an
Ashley Silveira (Sr., Miami, Fla.) sacrifice bunt. Emery then advanced to third on a wild pitch.
Dani Millan (Jr., Ventura, Calif.) then brought Emery home on a single to center. Later in the inning, Tanaka crushed a two-run double up the middle, scoring Raimo and Millan from second and third respectively. Saladrigas then brought Tanaka home on a base hit to left field to make the score 4-0. Emery was then able to bring in her fourth and fifth runs of the series with a base hit to centerfield, scoring Garcia and Saladrigas. The final run of the inning was scored on a Spicola steal home, where Emery was able to distract the infield just long enough with a run down between first and second.
Northwood was able to get a couple runs back, scoring their only runs of the game in the fourth and fifth innings.
The Sharks ended all hope with another big inning in the seventh, scoring eight more runs. Spicola scored the first run of the inning from third, on a Silveira single through the five-six hole. Millan brought in Emery during the next at-bat, with another single through the left side. The next run was scored on a throwing error on a routine grounder by Ramio to give the Sharks a comfortable 10-2 lead.
Later in the inning, with the score 13-2, Emery was able to record her sixth RBI of the doubleheader, reaching on a fielders choice that allowed Saladrigas to make a great sliding play at the plate. The final run of the game came on Silveira’s second RBI of the inning, scoring Spicola from second.
Von Doellen (17-16) pitched all seven innings allowing just one earned run and struck out six Seahawk batters.
The Sharks will look to end their season with an above .500 record with a sweep over St. Thomas on NSU’s senior day, Saturday, April 27, at the AD Griffin Sports Complex. The first pitch is set for 1 p.m.
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.
