TOURNAMENT PAGE
TAMPA, Fla. – It took nearly 15 hours (with two delays), but the No. 6 Nova Southeastern University baseball team (37-15, 18-6 SSC) took down the No. 10 University of West Florida Argos (35-16, 24-7 GSC) on Saturday morning, winning by a score of 6-4. Matt Hardy earned his eighth win and Devin Raftery his 12th save. The Sharks will play Delta State Saturday night for a chance to advance to the NCAA South Region championship game on Monday.
Friday Night - Prior To The Delay
West Florida jumped out to a 2-0 lead following the first delay, scoring twice on back-to-back safety squeezes. Following the Argos small ball in the bottom of the second, the Sharks scored on in the top of the third inning when Jancarlos Cintron-Torres doubled down the left field line, scoring Dylan Woods who reached with a single to left.
The Argos scored their third run of the game in the bottom of the third inning, as Julian Loret de Mola threw a pickoff attempt down the right field line, allowing the runner on third to score. NSU quickly responded in the top of the fourth inning, loaded the bases with no outs for Sebastian Diaz. Diaz laced a ground ball down the third base line, but the West Florida third baseman made an outstanding diving play, stepped on third and threw across the diamond for the double play. Zardon would score on the play, making the score 3-2. Woods then came to the plate and smoked a single to centerfield, allowing Kavan Thompson to score from second base.
With the score 3-3 heading into the bottom of the fourth inning, the umpires decided to remove everyone from the field due to a lightning delay that eventually turned into a massive rain storm.
Saturday Morning – Play Resumes
Play resumed at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday morning and head coach Greg Brown decided to go with Matt Hardy to begin the bottom of the fourth inning. Hardy would go on to toss five innings of one-run baseball in the biggest game of his career to date.
"Hardy's execution was evident from the start," said Brown. "He set the tone for us."
The Sharks broke the 3-3 tie in the top of the fifth inning when Andres Visbal smashed a solo home run over the left field wall, his 11th home run of the year. NSU would tack on two more runs in the top of the 8th, beginning with a Daniel Zardon single that scored Brandon Gomez from second. Thompson then came to the plate with two outs and just like he has done all year long, he came up with the big hit, scoring Zardon from second with a single to centerfield.
With the score at 6-3, Hardy went back out to the mound for the ninth and was replaced by Devin Raftery after walking and hitting a batter. Raftery allowed one run, but his three strikeouts sealed the deal for the Sharks, as they would go on to win 6-4.
NSU will play Delta State Saturday night for a chance to advance to Monday's championship game. Game time is tentatively set for 8:00 p.m. Follow the team on Twitter at @NSU_Baseball for more information on tonight's ballgame.
