FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – Nova Southeastern University softball (11-34, 1-20 SSC) dropped two close contests to Florida Southern (14-25-1, 6-11-1 SSC) on Saturday with scores of 3-1 and 4-2 to close out the conference series.  
 
Saturday's games were moved up due to the possibility of inclement weather later in the day. Both Shark pitchers had solid outings despite each picking up a loss. Dajia Jones (Jr., Jacksonville, Fla.) is now 4-12 on the season, allowing seven hits and striking out two in game one. Game two saw Megan Granitto (Fr., Wellington, Fla.) move to 5-11 after giving up nine hits, three earned runs and getting one strikeout.
 
Sydney Koch (5-4) and Brandi Jones (7-12) both earned a win with Koch relinquishing six hits with four strikeouts and Jones holding NSU to three hits. Reliever Hannah Loyer picked up her first two saves of the year.  
 
Game 1
Granitto and the defense looked very strong through the first three innings, holding the Mocs scoreless with just two hits. The Florida Southern offense turned it on in the top of the fourth scoring all three of their runs off of four hits including a RBI single by Amber Presto and a two-RBI triple by Koch.
 
The Sharks were able to put up a run of their own in the bottom of the fifth. Haley Gonzales (So., Boca Raton, Fla.) began the inning with an infield single. She moved to second off a single by Sophia Devesa (Fr., Pembroke Pines, Fla.) and was brought home with a double to left center by Jessie Brown (So., Hollywood, Fla.)
 
NSU put two on in the bottom of the sixth and loaded the bases in the bottom of the seventh after hits from Devesa and Ashley Roe (Jr., Flower Mound, Texas) but would fall to the Mocs 3-1.
 
Game 2
Florida Southern struck first in game two with a run in the first inning off of one hit and two Shark errors. The Sharks were not discouraged as Jones hit a two-out two-run homer to center field to take the lead in the bottom of the inning.
 
The Mocs were not giving up that easily as they scored two more in the top of the third from four hits and a RBI single from Erica Morrissey to go up 3-2. They put up their final run in the top of the seventh with back-to-back singles from Morrissey, Erin Klein and a RBI single by Zierra Flodman to clinch the win.
 
The Sharks have another Sunshine State Conference series starting Friday, April 22 at 3 p.m. as they make the quick trip up to Boca Raton, Florida to face Lynn University. Links to the live video and live stats for each game can be found HERE. In-game updates can also be found on Twitter by following @NSUSharks and @NSU_Softball.