Box Score FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – In the biggest matchup in NCAA Division II this weekend, the No. 2 Nova Southeastern University Sharks baseball team (30-7, 10-3 SSC) fell in Friday night's contest to the Florida Tech Panthers (32-5, 13-4 SSC) by a score of 5-3.
Roberto Baroniel (Sr., Miami, Fla.) took the loss, just his second of the year, to move his record to 6-2.
The Panthers jumped out to an early lead, scoring in each the second and third to take an early 4-0 lead. In the second inning, Baroniel allowed a sacrifice fly to deep left field, scoring the FIT runner from third base for the Panthers' first run of the game. Florida Tech then left the yard twice in the bottom of the third inning, sending a two-run home run and a solo home run over the left field fence.
NSU pulled within one run in the in bottom of the fourth inning, as
Mario Urdaneta (Sr., Ocala, Fla.) led the inning off with a single, followed by a
Alexander Fernandez (Sr., Davie, Fla.) infield single. With runners on first and second and no outs,
Justin Garcia (Jr., Hialeah, Fla.) sent a 1-2 pitch over the centerfield fence, to make the score 4-3.
Unfortunately, that was all the offense that the Sharks produced in front of a season-high crowd of 476 people, as FIT added one more in the top of the fifth inning and cruised to victory, winning 5-3.
The bright spot for the Sharks was
Zachary Westcott's (R-Sr., Weston, Fla.) performance in relief of Baroniel. Westcott struck out eight batters in four innings, while allowing just three hits.
The Sharks will be back in action Saturday afternoon, looking to win a doubleheader against the Panthers and keep their lead atop of the Sunshine State Conference. First pitch is set for 1 p.m. Be sure to tune in to the game, following the links on the schedule page.
