FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – The Nova Southeastern University softball team (9-19, 1-8 SSC) split two games with Columbus State University (17-12) on Wednesday night, winning the first 4-2 and dropping the second 11-1.
 
In the first game of the doubleheader, the Sharks trailed the Lady Cougars for three and a half innings until they took the lead in the bottom of the fourth off a two-RBI triple by Sophia Devesa (Fr., Pembroke, Pines, Fla.) followed by a RBI single by Jessie Brown (So., Hollywood, Fla.). NSU would tack on an insurance run in the sixth to bring the final score to 4-2. Six Sharks had hits with Haley Gonzales (So., Boca Raton, Fla.) going 2-for-2 with a run scored.
 
Megan Granitto (Fr., Wellington, Fla.) clinched her fourth win of the season to bring her record to an even 4-4. She pitched a complete game holding CSU to six hits, one earned run and putting up one strikeout. Darby Demarest (0-2) took the loss for the Lady Cougars giving up four hits, three earned runs, two walks and three strikeouts.
 
The second contest was still within NSU's reach until the top of the fifth when CSU scored four runs to widen the gap to 7-1. They went on to score another four in the top of the sixth to secure the win. Dajia Jones (Jr., Jacksonville, Fla.) is now 3-8 on the season as she took the loss for the Sharks. Hanna Manley (5-4) got the victory in the circle for the Lady Cougars.
 
Game 1
It was all CSU in game one until the bottom of the fourth inning when the Sharks came up to bat down 2-0. Katey Blummer (Jr., Naples, Fla.) got the offense started with a single to center field. Gonzales singled to advance Blummer and put two runners on with one out. Both runners were driven home by Devesa's triple to the right field wall. Devesa would then score off of Brown's single to left to put NSU up 3-2.
 
Granitto and the defense would only allow one more CSU hit through the final two innings and would strand two runners on base. The Sharks put up their final run in the bottom of the sixth with Jones getting a single to start the inning. She moved to second off a Gonzales single and took third when the Lady Cougar defense was not on alert. She crossed the plate on Brown's second hit of the night.
 
Game 2
CSU was again on the board early in game two as their first run came in the top of the second off of two hits. The Sharks left runners on in the second and third when Devesa singled and Ashley Roe (Jr., Flower Mound, Texas) walked.
 
They Lady Cougars moved to 3-0 in the top of the fourth off of a walk, a single, a wild pitch, and a two-out two-RBI double from Katie White. NSU closed the gap by one after Jones doubled to left field, took third on a wild pitch and came home from a single by Gonzales.
 
CSU saw four runs off of four hits and a Shark error in the top of the fifth and earned four more in the top of the sixth off of three hits and two errors. Gonzales, who went 2-for-3 with a RBI, tried to get things going in the bottom of the sixth with a double to left center but she was left stranded after back-to-back outs to end the game in six innings.  
 
The Sharks will travel to St. Petersburg to face Sunshine State Conference opponent Eckerd with one game at 7 p.m. on Friday, March 18 and a doubleheader on Saturday, March 19 starting at 1 p.m.