Box Score 1 |
Box Score 2 LIVINGSTON, Ala. – The Nova Southeastern University baseball team's (39-13, 18-6 SSC) historic season has come to an end after falling to the University of Tampa Spartans and West Alabama Tigers on Saturday afternoon by scores of 8-1 and 2-0, respectively.
"It's been a great ride with an amazing bunch of guys that came together and became one unit," said head coach Greg Brown. "The emotion of the loss hurts and it really comes down to us having a bad day. I think that when you look back, it doesn't take away from anything that they accomplished and I'm really proud of these guys. The future is bright for NSU, as the senior class has reached some great milestones and raised the bar. I believe we will continue to improve in order to win a regional title, reach the College World Series and bring a title back to Davie."
The Sharks were unable to get the bats going all day long, mustering all of just seven hits on the afternoon. The Sharks fell victim to two complete games, first from Tampa's Michael Calkins and second from West Alabama's Gandy Stubblefield.
Nick McNeil (Jr., Clearwater, Fla.) and
Alexander Fernandez (Sr., Ocala, Fla.) highlighted the offense, each collecting two hits on the afternoon.
On the mound, the Sharks received two solid starts from
Ryan Castellanos (Jr., Davie, Fla.) and
Roberto Baroniel (Sr., Miami, Fla.), as Castellanos went seven innings, allowing four runs, and Baroniel tossed 6.1 innings, allowing just two runs. Baroniel turned in arguably his best start of 2015 in the last game he will ever pitch in a Sharks uniform.
"I will look back upon my time here at NSU and be grateful to have played for the hardest working coaching staff in the nation. I will be thankful for their commitment to making me a better person, not just a baseball player," said Baroniel. "But what will resonate in my mind forever is the brotherhood that I have formed with my teammates over the past four years. The relationships that I have created with them have made these past four years the ultimate experience."
NSU concludes the year as Sunshine State Conference champions, a program record 39 wins, the highest ever NCAA South Region seed at No. 2, the SSC Coach of the Year award, SSC Player of the Year award, South Region Co-Coach of the Year and South Region Player of the Year awards. While it was a year to remember on the stat and accolades sheet, senior's
Zachary Westcott (R-Sr., Weston, Fla.) and
Alexander Fernandez (Sr., Davie, Fla.) believe something much greater came from this year.
"It's been an incredible journey in my five years as a Shark," said Westcott. "I couldn't think of a better team to end my journey with. These 37 guys have done more for me than they'll ever know and for that I'll forever be thankful."
"I've played for different championship teams," said Fernandez, "but I've never been a part of a team that cares for each other as much as we do. It's a true family and I'll never forget 37 hearts, 1 beat."
