SAINT LEO, Fla. – Jake Anchia connected on the go-ahead, two-run home run in the sixth inning before No. 21 Nova Southeastern pulled away in the late innings from Saint Leo for the eventual 14-7 win on the road Friday night.
The series-opening victory marks the 10th in a row for the Sharks against the Lions, as they now improve to 18-10 overall and 6-4 in the Sunshine State Conference.
Saint Leo plated a pair of runs in the home half of the fifth to even up the ball game at 6-6, but Nova Southeastern answered by scoring eight of the contest's last nine runs.over the final four frames. Anchia finished the night 4-for-5 with four RBI's and two runs scored to pace the offensive attack. Teammates Jeremy Vasquez and Dylan Woods each tallied two RBI's apiece, while Sebastian Diaz scored three times to lead the Sharks to their 10th double-digit run output of the season.
Trailing 1-0 in the top of the third, Vasquez dug Nova Southeastern out of the slight hole with a two-run base hit down the left field line, pulling him back even with Brandon Gomez for the team lead in RBI's with 34. Three batters later, Vasquez would then come around to score on a Kevin Suarez single to stretch the early edge to 3-1 in favor of the Sharks.
The Sharks were unable to shake free off the Lions, though, as each time Nova Southeastern appeared in line to blow the ball game open, Saint Leo would respond with at least one run of its own. As both sides traded blows back-and-forth throughout the middle innings, the Lions remained within one run in the sixth following a Shane Williams RBI-single.
The Nova Southeastern bullpen would soon find its groove, however, while the bats continued to pepper whomever the Lions sent to the mound. Up 10-7 in the eighth, Anchia continued his strong night at the plate by scoring Gomez on a run-scoring single up the middle. Andrew Liberty would then mirror Anchia with his own knock into center, giving the Sharks plenty of distance while becoming the ninth and final starter to record at least one hit in the 'W'.
Starter Matt Hardy tallied four strikeouts in five innings of work en route to tying teammate Joe DiBenedetto with his team-leading fourth victory on the year.
NSU will look to capture the series win when both teams return to the diamond for Saturday's doubleheader set to begin at 1 p.m. ET. For complete coverage throughout the afternoon, log onto NSUSharks.com or follow the Sharks on Twitter @NSU_Baseball.
