FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – Six-RBI games are becoming the norm for the Nova Southeastern baseball team lately. After
Jeremy Vasquez accomplished the feat twice last week along with
Andrew Liberty's career night, leftfielder
Brandon Gomez took his turn Monday as the Sharks eased by Merrimack 18-4 at home.
The mark set a new career-high in RBI's for the Nova Southeastern slugger, who also moved into third in the Sunshine State Conference home run race with his eighth of the year in the second inning.
Designated hitter
Brendan Cutting added a three-run blast in the fourth inning, while
Dylan Woods reached base in all five plate appearances and
Jancarlos Cintron extended his current hit streak to 21 games with an RBI-single in the fifth.
Gomez finished a perfect 3-for-3 at the plate prior to being pinch-hit for midway through the contest. Following Merrimack's four-run second inning to even the score, it was the senior's two-run blast that gave the Sharks the lead for good before blowing the game wide open.
"I felt good at the plate tonight," said Gomez, who is now tied with Vasquez for the team lead with 32 RBI's. "I've been working with Brownie (head coach
Greg Brown) on my approach. The game was a little tight there for a bit, but I was able to get the guys going with some key hits. It was a good night for all of us."
Up 10-4 in the fourth following Cutting's deep shot to straight-away center, the Sharks added three consecutive runs via walks in what ended as an eight-run inning. The category leader in the SSC, Nova Southeastern drew a whopping 14 walks in the rout in addition to being plunked a program-record seven times.
Starting pitcher
Jonny Ortiz improved to 2-0 on the hill this year after striking out four in five innings of work. Meanwhile, the Shark bullpen yielded just three hits the rest of the way with
Cameron Churchill striking out the side in the ninth to seal the deal.
NSU will continue its five-game home stand when it plays host to No. 11 Southern New Hampshire this Wednesday at 6 p.m. ET. For complete coverage the action, log onto
NSUSharks.com or follow the Sharks on Twitter @NSU_Baseball.
