Box Score 1 | Box Score 2

TAMPA, Fla. – The Nova Southeastern University softball team (18-22, 6-15 SSC) won a weekend series over the Tampa Spartans (25-11, 13-8 SSC) with two wins on the road Saturday. The Sharks took game one of the doubleheader, 3-1, before winning in game two, 3-2.
 
GAME ONE
The Sharks evened the weekend series with a 3-1 win in another pitching duel between Rebecca Thornton (So., Lodi, Calif.) and Julia Morrow. Thornton (14-10) picked up a victory without allowing an earned run Saturday. She held Tampa to six hits and two walks, striking out one batter.
 
Thornton's composure stood out after Tampa attacked the entire game, reaching base in six of seven innings. However, after allowing a run in the second, Thornton blanked Tampa for five straight innings. On the other end, Morrow struck out 13 batters and held NSU to seven hits, for which NSU still produced three runs on.
 
The Sharks earned their run production from the top and bottom of the lineup with senior Courtney Bridge (Port Coquitlam, B.C.) and freshman Brenisha Bannister (Plantation, Fla.). Bridge went 1-for-3 with two runs scored, while Bannister finished 2-for-4 with a run and two RBI.
 
The pair first made an impact in the third inning, in which the Sharks entered down a run. With one out on the board, Bridge hit a triple to right centerfield for her team's first extra base hit of the game. Bannister followed up with a RBI single up the middle to tie the game. The speedy freshman stole second and reached third on a throwing error. Dakota Villella (So., Hollywood, Fla.) flashed her own speed with a RBI infield single. Villella's hit scored a run that took a lead NSU would not give up.
 
Taylor Rotz (Pittsburgh, Pa.) and Jessie Brown (Fr., Davie, Fla.) connected on back-to-back hits in the fourth, but Morrow retired the next 10 straight batters. Her streak, made up mostly of strikeouts, led NSU to take a 2-1 lead into the top of the seventh inning with two outs on the board.
 
Bridge's speed forced a throwing error, allowing her to reach second. After advancing to third on a wild pitch, Bannister plated her again on a single up the middle. With a two run lead, Thornton kept the ball in the infield over four batters to record her 14th victory and forced a rubber match.
 
GAME TWO
After a lengthy senior day presentation that included a wedding proposal, the Sharks took the lead early and never trailed in the series finale. In the circle, Maegan Lee (Sr., Miami, Fla.) (2-5) started and earned the victory on 4.1 innings of work. She held Tampa to four hits and one earned run. Thornton returned for her second save, pitching 2.2 innings and allowing just two hits and a run.
 
The Sharks took the lead in the third inning on a pair of runs. After a strong first inning in the circle, Lee led off with a walk and was followed by another base on balls from Katey Blummer (So., Naples, Fla.). The duo each stole a base to set up the biggest hit of the game, a two-RBI single from shortstop Haley Gonzales (Fr., Boca Raton, Fla.). NSU stranded a pair of runners on base in the frame, but two runs created the base for the Sharks' victory.
 
In the next frame, Katrina Ammons (Sr., Jacksonville, Fla.) reached on a fielder's choice and was batted over to third base on a double from Lee. The next ball was hit right to Ammons at third, but a throwing error allowed the senior to score. Over the course of the next 4.2 innings, the Sharks would only earn one hit, a single from Villella in the fifth. However, three innings was once again enough to topple the Spartans.
 
After four straight zeros in Tampa's score column, the home team posted a run in the fifth inning after a Jenna Halper leadoff double, single and sacrifice fly. In the seventh inning, Halper once again hit a double to set up a late rally. Senior Kandi Kuder drove her home on a single through the right side and represented the tying run on first. However, Thornton drew a groundout to Villella at second on a bang-bang play that ended the series.
 
The series win was the first for NSU over Tampa since the Sharks' 45 win season in 2010, and the first in Tampa since 2009. The Sharks are now winners of four of their last six games.
 
NSU will look to build on its success with a doubleheader against St. Thomas Tuesday at the AD Griffin Sports Complex beginning at 5 p.m.