FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – The Nova Southeastern offense came out hacking, but was eventually quieted by the Tampa bullpen as the Sharks dropped game one of the Sunshine State Conference series by a final score of 7-4 Friday night at the NSU Baseball Complex.
 
Jancarlos Cintron extended his current hit streak to 23 games with a lead-off home run, while Sebastian Diaz picked up a pair of hits to go along with an RBI. The production from both Cintron and Diaz lifted the Sharks to an early 3-1 lead in the weekend opener, chasing Spartans' starter Garrett Cave from the ball game after just three innings. All signs pointed to another hit parade for head coach Greg Brown's club, who entered the night averaging a shade under 10 runs per contest. However, the Tampa bullpen picked up the slack for Cave, and it was the Spartans' offense that caught fire and reeled off six unanswered runs at one point en route to victory.
 
The loss drops the Sharks to 16-8 on the year and 5-2 in the SSC. Tampa, meanwhile, improves to 17-5 overall, with a record of 6-1 in league play.
 
Three of the first four batters in the Nova Southeastern lineup reached base safely in the bottom of the first inning. A Dylan Woods walk followed Cintron's sixth dinger of the year before Brandon Gomez laced a double off the wall in left to set the Sharks up with two runners in scoring position and just one out. Gomez would cross home shortly thereafter on a wild pitch, giving the Sharks an encouraging start against a Tampa club ranked No. 1 in the polls by Perfect Game.
 
Staked to a 3-1 cushion following a Diaz sacrifice fly, the Sharks appeared to be in complete control – especially with the effectiveness of starter Matt Hardy on the mound. Minus a pair of harmless solo home runs, Hardy executed near perfectly through the first five innings Friday night. The right-hander yielded just one other hit, while tallying four strikeouts. The third time through the Tampa lineup proved to be a different story, though, as the Spartans busted open a one-run game with six consecutive hits to grab a 6-3 advantage.
 
Darren Miller's third hit of the ball game tacked on another run for Tampa in the seventh, proving to be plenty for the likes of Spartan relievers Colton Widdows and Cheyne Bickel. Together, the two limited the Sharks to only four hits in six innings, with Bickel picking up seven strikeouts in the process. Nova Southeastern was shutout by the duo up until the final out of the ball game until Jeremy Vasquez scored on a wild pitch to narrow the deficit to 7-4.
 
The Sharks' seven hits in Friday's loss were tied for the second-fewest in a single game this season, and marked just the seventh time overall without at least 10 hit total.
 
NSU will look to bounce back in a big way with Saturday's doubleheader versus the Spartans set to begin at 12 p.m. ET. For complete coverage the action, log onto NSUSharks.com or follow the Sharks on Twitter @NSU_Baseball.