Box Score 1 |
Box Score 2 SAINT LEO, Fla. – The No. 8 Nova Southeastern University Sharks (16-3; 3-0) completed the sweep of the No. 14 Saint Leo University Lions (17-4; 0-3), winning both games of the doubleheader by scores of 15-11 and 4-2.
Alex Mateo (Jr., Miami, Fla.) earned the win in game one, while
Ryan Castellanos (Jr., Davie, Fla.) tossed eight innings to record the win in game two.
Game One Projected to be a pitchers dual, game one was the exact opposite, as both teams combined for 33 hits in an offensive shootout.
Justin Garcia (Jr., Hialeah, Fla.) led the way, blasting three home runs on his way to six RBI.
The Sharks got on the scoreboard first on an RBI single from
Alexander Fernandez (Sr., Davie, Fla.), scoring Woodard. Garcia followed, launching his first home run of the day over the right field fence to give the Sharks an early 3-0 lead. Saint Leo answered back in the bottom of the inning with scoring one run on a single to left field from Jordan Taylor, scoring Saint Leo's Bobby Twitty.
NSU tacked two more runs in the top of the second on RBI singles from
Mario Urdaneta (Sr., Ocala, Fla.) and Fernandez, giving the Sharks a 5-1 lead. The Lions wouldn't let that bother them, scoring five runs in the bottom of the second of Mateo, to take the lead 6-5. The Sharks jabbed right back, scoring four more runs in the top of the third inning, highlighted by RBI singles from
Casey Gibson (R-Jr., Fort Myers, Fla.),
Roche Woodard (Sr., Tampa, Fla.) and Urdaneta.
Mateo was all business from there, allowing just one run in each of the bottom of the fourth and sixth innings. The Sharks continued to poor on the runs, scoring five runs in the top of the fifth inning. Woodard and Urdaneta singled, driving in one run each before Garcia unloaded for his second home run of the day, giving the Sharks a convincing 14-7 lead.
After Saint Leo scored one run to make the game 14-8, Garcia launched his third home run of the day onto the lacrosse field to take a 15-8 lead. Saint Leo would score three runs in the eighth inning but it wasn't enough, as the Sharks would take game one by a score of 15-8.
Game Two After a grueling 26-run affair in game one, Castellanos and Saint Leo's Jordan Taylor went back and forth in what turned out to be a low-scoring pitching dual.
The Sharks got on the board first, after
Andres Visbal (So., Miami, Fla.) drew a leadoff walk and
Michael Hernandez (So., Pembroke Pines, Fla.) singled to right field, advancing Visbal to third base with no outs.
Dylan Woods (So., New Symrna Beach, Fla.) then drove a ball deep enough to centerfield to score Visbal, giving the Sharks a 1-0 lead.
Saint Leo answered back in the bottom of the fifth, scoring one run to tie the ballgame. That didn't bother Castellanos, as he surrendered just two hits through six innings of work. NSU took a 2-1 lead in the top of the sixth after Fernandez smashed a home run off of the batters eye in centerfield. NSU added two more in the top of the seventh on RBI doubles from Gibson and Urdaneta, making it a 4-1 lead.
Saint Leo fired back, scoring one run in the bottom half of the inning on a sacrifice fly to deep centerfield, making the score 4-2. The Lions threatened in the bottom of the ninth, placing runners on first and third with no outs. Coach Greg Brown decided to go to his closer,
Devin Raftery (R-Jr., Deltona, Fla.), to get the job done and that is exactly what he did, striking out the first two batters he faced and getting a groundball to first base to end the game.
NSU will be back in action on Tuesday at home against American International. First pitch is set for 6 p.m.
