PENSACOLA, Fla. – The Nova Southeastern University softball team dropped a pair of road games on Wednesday afternoon to West Florida, 7-2 and 3-1.
The first game saw the Argonauts (14-8) use a strong third inning to grab a 7-2 victory before the Sharks (10-12) were unable to take back the lead in the nightcap, eventually falling 3-1.
GAME ONE
After two scoreless innings of play for either team, the Argonauts utilized their strong offense to grab a 6-0 lead in the bottom of the third. The first five batters were able to reach base and a two-RBI triple and a solo home run highlighted the inning.
The Sharks responded in the top of the fourth with a single run.
Dakota Villella reached on an error by UWF's pitcher and a sacrifice bunt by
Lexie Storrer pushed her all the way to third. The next batter,
Megan Granitto, brought her home on a ground out to bring the scoreboard to 6-1 in favor of the Argos.
After another scoreless frame,
Dana Edmundson led off the sixth inning with a single up the middle and after a ground out by
Dakota Villella, an RBI-single by Storrer scored Edmundson to tally NSU's final run of the game.
Edmundson led the Sharks in game one, finishing 2-for-3 with a run scored while
Megan Maloney and
Sydney Lageyre were both 1-for-3.
Storrer (6-6) was handed the loss for NSU, tossing all 6.0 innings and allowing seven runs (6 ER) while tallying five strikeouts.
GAME TWO
Unlike game one, game two saw NSU reach the board first in the top of the third inning. Lead-off hitter Lageyre used a bunt to reach on a single, but an errant throw by UWF's third baseman allowed her to make it all the way around to tally the Sharks' lone run of the game.
West Florida responded in the home half of the inning, taking the lead 2-1 on an RBI-single by Castro and a double-steal. The Argos padded their lead in the bottom of the sixth, 3-1, with an RBI-single by Jacquelynne Poling.
UWF's starting pitcher Sarah Maloney was a force to be reckoned with, as she allowed only two hits and recorded 11 strikeouts, including six in a row. Lageyre and Villella were the two Sharks to tally the hits.
Erica Winter (4-2) took the loss, going the distance for the Sharks and giving up three runs (1 ER) on seven hits.
The Sharks will return to SSC play on Friday evening against the host Tampa Spartans. The first game of the three-game series is slated to begin at 6:00 p.m. For live coverage, head to the softball schedule page at NSUSharks.com or follow @NSU_Softball on Twitter.
