FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – It's not every day a team can allow nine runs in a single inning, yet still find a way to win – by three runs for that matter. That's just what No. 1 Nova Southeastern did Tuesday night, though, as the Sharks rallied for five runs in the bottom of the eighth inning to earn a 19-16 win over Flagler in a wild affair.
Nova Southeastern raced out to an 11-4 advantage in just the fourth inning, but soon watched the Saints chip away before exploding for nine runs as part of a sixth inning in which 13 batters were sent to the plate.
With the way the night had gone, however, more offense was to eventually be expected. That's just what the fans in attendance received with the Sharks trailing 16-14 to begin the home half of the eighth. Following a fielding error sandwiched in between a pair of walks,
Sebastian Diaz cut the deficit to only one run with a sacrifice fly to center. The bases reloaded after Jancarlos Cintron was plunked in the back, and
Dylan Woods quickly made Flagler pay for its mistake with the go-ahead, three-run triple to finally put the Sharks in front for good.
In a ball game in which only a handful of zeroes were registered on the scoreboard, the Sharks' bullpen ultimately reeled off three in a row in the late innings, capped by a relieving strikeout by
Cameron Churchill to put an end to the 3-hour, 51-minute roller coaster.
Both sides combined for 39 hits in the contest, but it was Nova Southeastern's three home runs and nine extra-base knocks in total that proved to be the difference. Cintron extended his hit streak to 10 games to begin the year with a 3-for-5 performance, featuring a two-run blast in the fifth. First baseman
Jeremy Vasquez reached base four times, finishing 2-for-3 at the dish, while
Jake Anchia and
Michael Hernandez each added homers as well. All nine starters recorded a hit in the effort, with seven coming away with at least two apiece.
A Josh Pagliei three-run homer to left lifted Flagler to an early 3-0 lead in the top of the second. However, the Sharks wasted no time responding with four runs of their own in the bottom of the frame highlighted by a two-run single down the leftfield line by Cintron.
The second inning was just the first of what resulted in four straight crooked numbers put up by Nova Southeastern as the Sharks grasped a 13-7 cushion after five innings of play.
Ronny Orta yielded one unearned run in 2.2 innings out of the bullpen to earn his first career win as a member of the Sharks.
With three more home runs to their credit on Tuesday, the Sharks have now mashed a total of 22 in just 10 games. In addition, head coach
Greg Brown's club leapfrogged Tampa to grab the league-lead in batting average at .338 overall.
NSU will open its Sunshine State Conference slate with a three-game set beginning Friday at Eckerd. For complete coverage the action, log onto
NSUSharks.com or follow the Sharks on Twitter @NSU_Baseball.
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