TAMPA, Fla. – The No. 6 Nova Southeastern University baseball team (36-15, 18-6 SSC) took down the West Georgia Wolves (39-15, 22-11 GSC) in the first round of the NCAA South Region tournament on Thursday night, winning by a score of 11-4. Alex Mateo earned the win, extended his record to 8-4. Daniel Zardon went 4-for-5 with three doubles and a three-run home run, his twelfth of the season.
The Sharks jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the third inning, as Jancarlos Cintron-Torres singled up the middle to score Sebastian Diaz. Alex Mateo then tossed two more scoreless innings before the Wolves got to him in the top of the fifth inning, scoring three runs on four hits, taking a 3-1 lead.
The West Georgia lead didn't last very long, as NSU scored five runs with two outs in the bottom of the fifth inning, taking a 6-3 lead. Kevin Suarez led the scoring, driving in Diaz with a single to left field. Andres Visbal then crushed a single off of the right field wall to score Suarez. The Wolves then made a pitching change to give Daniel Zardon a different look but it proved to be a non-factor, as the junior third baseman sent a screaming line drive over the left field wall to give the Sharks a three-run lead.
The Sharks extended their lead to 7-3 in the bottom of the sixth when Dylan Woods scored on a passed ball. West Georgia then threatened in the top of the seventh when they scored one run and had runners on second and third with two outs, but Steven Fleming came in to face a left handed bat and got the job done for NSU by keeping the score at 7-4.
NSU broke the game open in the bottom of the seventh inning, scoring three more runs, highlighted by a two-RBI single from Kavan Thompson and a RBI-single from Woods. Brandon Gomez added to the lead, driving in Suarez in the bottom of the eighth to make the score 11-4.
Ronald Patella and Joe DiBenedetto sealed the deal for the Sharks, tossing scoreless innings in the eighth and ninth, respectively.
The Sharks will play West Florida Friday night at 7:00 p.m. West Florida beat Claflin 17-1 in game two of the NCAA South Region tournament prior to NSU's win over West Georgia. Follow along with the game on Twitter at @NSU_Baseball and tune in to watch the game live by following the links on the schedule page.
