DAHLONEGA, Ga. – No. 1 Nova Southeastern rallied for three runs in the top of the ninth inning, but saw its near-comeback cut short as the Sharks fell for the first time this season 4-3 to North Georgia in a series-opening meeting between a pair of clubs that both entered the night unbeaten.
The Sharks' high-powered offense was held in check throughout most the ball game, tallying just two hits entering the final frame, until a two-run, pinch-hit single by
Brendan Cutting put a scare into the Nighthawks. Still with runners on the corners and no outs,
Kevin Suarez crossed home to cut the deficit to one run. However, a double-play ball cleared the bases on the score before North Georgia forced a groundout to third base to escape with the victory.
Following an up-and-down bottom of the first, starting pitcher
Devin Meyer settled in nicely and eventually finished with six strikeouts in seven innings of work. The right-hander yielded only one walk and surrendered just two earned runs against a North Georgia team that began the night averaging 12.5 runs through its first four games.
Suarez and
Jeremy Vasquez each finished 1-for-3 in the defeat, while second baseman Jancarlos Cintron went 1-for-4 at the dish to extend his current hit streak to six games to start the season.
For just the second time this season, the Sharks failed to strike first in the opening frame. Instead, it was the Nighthawks jumping on top in the bottom first following a two-out, RBI-single by North Georgia's leading hitter Trevor Sams.
Two innings later, Nighthawks' catcher Andres Perez led off the bottom of the third with a solo home run to left field. Meanwhile, the Sharks were set down in order the first time through the lineup and trailed 2-0.
A one-out walk by
Dylan Woods – one of three for the shortstop in the contest – set the table for the heart of the Sharks' order still down 2-0 in the top of the sixth. The ensuing batter,
Brandon Gomez, nearly knotted up the score with one swing of the bat, but had his deep fly to center caught at the wall before Vasquez was robbed of an extra-base hit by North Georgia leftfielder Michael Gouge to keep Nova Southeastern off the board.
The Nighthawks tacked on two more insurance runs with one out in the eighth that proved to be the difference in the Sharks' first loss since the NCAA South Region Tournament last May, a span covering their previous 11 games over the past two seasons.
NSU will look to even up the series in game two against North Georgia, set for Saturday at 1 p.m. ET. For complete coverage the action, log onto
NSUSharks.com or follow the Sharks on Twitter @NSU_Baseball.
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