Box Score 1 |
Box Score 2 FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – The No. 4 Nova Southeastern University Sharks (23-4, 6-0 SSC) completed the sweep of the visiting Florida Southern Mocs (11-13, 1-5 SSC) on Saturday afternoon, winning game one of the doubleheader by a score of 8-7 and game two by a score of 5-3.
Devin Raftery (R-Jr., Deltona, Fla.) earned the win in game one, while
Zachary Westcott (R-Sr., Weston, Fla.) took the win in game two.
Game One Florida Southern came out ready to play, scoring two runs in the first two innings off of NSU's starting pitcher,
Alex Mateo (Jr., Miami, Fla.). The Sharks offense responded to the Mocs' lead, scoring four runs in the bottom of the second inning to take a 4-2 lead. After the Sharks loaded the bases with one out in the inning,
Kavan Thompson (Jr., Merritt Island, Fla.) came up with a bases-clearing three-run double to right centerfield for his only hit of the weekend. He would later score on a wild pitch.
NSU added three more in the bottom of the third inning, beginning with a two-run home run off of the bat of
Justin Garcia (Jr., Hialeah, Fla.). Latter in the inning, Thompson stepped to the plate for his second RBI chance of the game and he did just so, grounding into a fielders choice to score
Andres Visbal (So., Miami, Fla.) from third base to give the Sharks a commanding 7-2 lead.
Down five runs, Florida Southern responded immediately, registering four runs in the top of the fourth to chase Mateo out of the game and shrink the Sharks' lead to 7-6. Florida Southern tied the ballgame in the top of the seventh, sending a line drive home run to centerfield off of the bat of Jhalan Jackson.
Garcia saw Jackson's home run and raised him one of his own, launching a solo home run to centerfield for his second home run of the day and tenth of the year. The clutch at-bat from Garcia proved to be the game-winning run, as Raftery shut down the Mocs' offense in the eighth and ninth innings to earn his second win of 2015.
Game Two Game two started exactly like game one, as Florida Southern jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first two innings. NSU earned one run back on a
Michael Hernandez (So., Pembroke Pines, Fla.) solo home run over the left field fence.
The score remained 2-1 until the bottom of the seventh inning, when
Alexander Fernandez (Sr., Davie, Fla.) stepped to the plate and sent the first he saw over the centerfield fence to tie the ballgame at 2-2. It marked Fernandez's eighth home run of the year, doubling the amount he had in 2014.
Florida Southern fired right back in the top of the eighth inning, as Westcott, who came in relief of starting pitcher
Ryan Castellanos (Jr., Davie, Fla.), allowed a double and a RBI single, giving the Mocs a 3-2 advantage. Down to its last six outs, NSU led the bottom of the eighth inning with a walk from Thompson.
Nick McNeil (Jr., Clearwater, Fla.) followed Thompson with a walk, putting runners on first and second. After a failed bunt attempt,
Antonio Rodriguez (Jr., Coral Gables, Fla.) stepped to the plate and sent a fly ball to deep centerfield, moving Thompson over to third base. That brought
Mario Urdaneta (Sr., Ocala, Fla.) up to bat and he tied the ballgame at 3-3, singling through the left side to score Thompson. Fernandez followed with a line drive to right field that fell just in front of a diving Jackson, scoring McNeil and Urdanteta.
Westcott came out for the top of the ninth and recorded the straight fly outs to complete the sweep of Florida Southern and add to the best start to Sunshine State Conference play in program history.
NSU will be back in action on Tuesday at home against St. Thomas (Fla.) before they head to Boca Raton to take on the Lynn University Fighting Knights on Friday and Saturday. First pitch on Tuesday night is set for 6 p.m.
