TAMPA, Fla. – The Nova Southeastern University baseball team (13-10, 4-3 SSC) took down the No. 1 University of Tampa Spartans (20-2, 6-1 SSC) by a score of 4-1 on Friday night behind a career pitching performance from senior Alex Mateo, who tossed 8.1 innings and allowed just four hits to a Tampa team that averages over 13 hits a game.
 
"Really I was just trying to focus on pitch by pitch," said Mateo. "I was trying to get ahead in the count and earn my team a win."
 
NSU's offense gave Mateo an early lead, as the Sharks loaded the bases with no outs in the top of the first inning. Daniel Zardon would then walk to score Jancarlos Cintron, giving the Sharks a 1-0 lead. Zardon's walk led to a Tampa pitching change and the Sharks would leave the bases loaded to end the inning.
 
The Sharks would add to the lead in the top of the fourth inning, as Kevin Suarez singled with one out, followed by a Dylan Woods double down the right field line that would score Suarez all the way from first. Woods would then score on an overthrow by the Spartans catcher after advancing to third on a past ball. NSU extended its lead to 4-0 in the top of the sixth inning when Andres Visbal sent a ball over the left-centerfield fence, marking his second big-fly of the year.
 
While NSU's offense was getting the job done at the plate, Alex Mateo was in full cruise control on the mound, allowing two hits from the first inning to the eighth inning. Tampa managed to score one run in the seventh due to two errors from the NSU infield, but Mateo limited the damage to one.
 
Tampa attempted to mount a comeback in the bottom of the ninth inning, putting runners on first and second with one out. Head coach Greg Brown then opted for closer Devin Raftery who recorded a strikeout and a pop out to end the game and deal No. 1 Tampa their second loss of the season.

"The performance by Mateo was outstanding from the start," said head coach Greg Brown. "He kept their lineup off balance and made pitches. We were able to create some runs on the bases and got a timely hit from Woods. This is a great team win, and now we have to prepare to battle tomorrow in the doublheader."

 
NSU will take on the Spartans on Saturday afternoon in a doubleheader beginning at 1:00 p.m. Follow the Sharks all day long on Twitter at @NSU_Baseball and tune in to all both games live by following the links on the schedule page.