WINTER PARK, Fla. – No. 18 Nova Southeastern shook off the agony of Friday's defeat with a much-needed victory in the early portion of Saturday's doubleheader, but was unable to complete the afternoon sweep after a late Rollins rally turned back the Sharks at Alfond Stadium. The Sharks used three home runs, including a pair off the bat of Jake Anchia, in their 8-5 game one victory. However, a three-run eighth inning for the Tars in the weekend finale prevented head coach Greg Brown's club from its fourth straight series win as the home team secured the eventual 8-6 'W'.
Saturday's initial win snapped Nova Southeastern's previous three-game skid, now moving the Sharks to 25-15 overall and 11-7 in the Sunshine State Conference.
Game One
Nova Southeastern dug itself into an early 4-0 hole after just three innings of play in game one. With just two previous hits to their credit, though, the Sharks' bats eventually woke up in the top of the fourth.
Following a one-out single by Jeremy Vasquez, Anchia cut the Sharks' deficit in half with a laser shot over the wall in left for his 10th homer of the season. The home run trend continued in the fifth inning, too, when Dylan Woods stepped to the dish. Facing a full count, and Jancarlos Cintron standing on first, the Nova Southeastern shortstop hammered a two-run shot beyond the 367-foot sign in right center to even up the ball game.
Rollins responded with a run-scoring double in the home half of the frame, but the power of the long ball continued to carry the Sharks, and soon gave them their first lead of the afternoon after Anchia cleared the left field wall with ease in the top of the sixth. The sophomore's multi-homer effort marked the second of his career.
With the score still sitting at 6-5 in favor of Nova Southeastern in the eighth, Rollins threatened after loading up the bases with just one away. Reliever Cameron Churchill wasn't fazed, though, and recorded a strikeout and groundout fresh out of the bullpen to ultimately seal the deal for the Sharks.
Following 4.1 innings thrown in relief, Joe DiBenedetto picked up his sixth win of the year on the mound. The southpaw surrendered just one unearned run, while striking out a pair.
Game Two
The Nova Southeastern bullpen slammed the door shut on Rollins in game one of the afternoon, but wasn't able to replicate its success in the weekend capper. Holding onto a 6-4 advantage entering the bottom of the eighth, the Tars' Peter Nicoletto tagged a go-ahead, two-run double before an ensuing error provided the home team with all it would need.
Another sluggish start forced the Sharks into a bit of an uphill battle yet again on Saturday evening. Following a lead-off triple in the bottom of the second inning, the Tars opened the scoring on sacrifice fly to the warning track. Two batters later, the early deficit then doubled when Rollins' BJ Minarcin sent the 3-2 offering from Jonny Ortiz over the wall in left.
Ortiz would settle in, though, and was soon rewarded with some run support. Sebastian Diaz put the Sharks on the board with a deep fly to center in the fifth. In the ensuing frame, the Sharks tallied two more runs and managed to grab its first lead thanks to a Gomez single up the middle.
Knotted at 4-4 in the top of the eighth, Brendan Cutting answered Brown's call off the bench, providing a pinch-hit, two-run single to swing the momentum back in favor of the Sharks. However, with six outs to go, Nova Southeastern was unable to silence a Rollins offense that produced three hits in the key rally.
Despite the loss, four players recorded multi-hit efforts for the Sharks, including Kevin Suarez, who batted in the No. 3 hole for the first time all season on Saturday.
NSU will continue its current road trip next Friday at Embry-Riddle. For complete coverage, log onto NSUSharks.com or follow the Sharks on Twitter @NSU_Baseball.
