CLEVELAND, Miss. – Although seeded third, the Nova Southeastern Sharks reminded the rest of the south region in Thursday's tournament opener that they're still the defending champions and poised to make yet another run at the title. Highlighted by two home runs apiece from Brandon Gomez and Andrew Liberty, the Sharks combined for six dingers – most in a single game April 25, 2015 – en route to a commanding 20-5 victory over sixth-seeded West Alabama.
Gomez ignited the offensive onslaught with a two-run blast in the bottom of third inning that set the new NSU record for most career home runs, previously held by J.D. Martinez. The senior then added to that mark with his second two-run shot in as many innings before Liberty delivered the early three-run dagger in the sixth to hand the Sharks their ninth win in their last 10 games overall.
"It was awesome to see the way we swung the bats," said head coach Greg Brown. "I'm really proud of the way we competed. I think our guys took advantage of pitches, which is hard to do, but today we made it look easy."
Already in front 4-0 in the bottom of the fourth, Nova Southeastern blew the ball game wide open with four long balls in the inning, including back-to-back-to-back jacks by Gomez, Liberty and Michael Hernandez.
A trio of homers by West Alabama trimmed the advantage to 9-5 in the fifth. However, the Tigers wouldn't get any closer as the Sharks reeled off the ball game's final 11 runs.
Starting pitcher Matt Hardy earned win No. 8 on the season after striking out six batters in 5.2 innings of work. Meanwhile, Joe DiBenedetto and Anthony Difede tossed 3.1 scoreless innings in relief to seal the deal.
Seven players recorded at least two hits in the victory for NSU, including a team-high four from Sebastian Diaz out of the lead-off spot.
The Sharks' 20 runs in the effort are the most scored in a postseason game since officially joining the NCAA back in 2005.
NSU will return to action on Friday at 7 p.m. CT against the winner of Tampa/Miles. For complete coverage log onto NSUSharks.com or follow the Sharks on Twitter @NSU_Baseball. For more tournament information, click here.
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