CLEVELAND, Miss. – The power of the long ball can do wonders for a team – just ask Nova Southeastern. The Sharks mustered only four hits on Friday against Tampa. However, three of those went for home runs as the defending national champions overcame Sunshine State Conference pitcher of the Year David LeBron to earn the 3-1 triumph and move to 2-0 in regional play.
Nova Southeastern right-hander Derik Beauprez yielded a run in the top of the first, but managed to keep the Spartans off-balance for the remainder of his 5.2-inning outing before the Sharks were able to adjust and lean on the long ball. Jake Anchia sparked a streak of three homers in as many innings in the fifth before Dylan Woods mashed the go-ahead blast in the sixth followed by an insurance shot off the bat of Brandon Gomez in the seventh.
LeBron racked up 15 strikeouts in eight innings, including 11 in the opening five frames. The few mistakes the junior made, though, the Sharks made him pay.
"LeBron's the best pitcher I feel we've played in a couple years," said head coach Greg Brown. "His command of his stuff is second to none. I thought we made an adjustment in the box there in the middle innings and we got to some good swings that helped us win the game."
Nova Southeastern was held scoreless, and recorded only one hit through the first four innings. Yet, Beauprez's effort kept the Sharks within one run until Anchia opened the bottom of the fifth by sending a liner over the wall in left field to even up the ball game.
Following two quick outs in the top of the sixth, Tampa put runners on the corners with two away, forcing Brown to turn to Cameron Churchill in the bullpen. Facing the pressure situation, Churchill made quick work by inducing a pop-up to third base to escape the jam.
Feeding off the momentum, the Sharks' offense built off the effort of the defense when Woods sent a 3-2 offering from LeBron beyond the deck in right to go ahead 2-1. Gomez then added to the cushion with his third dinger in two days in the bottom of the seventh.
Still in front 3-1 in the top of the ninth, the potential tying run stepped to the plate following a hit-by-pitch to open the frame. Closer Josh Glick induced a ground out and pop-up, though, before fanning SSC RBI-leader J.D. Osborne to cap the thrilling victory.
Through the first two ball games of the tournament, the Sharks have now totaled nine homers.
"Our guys were tremendous tonight," Brown added. "I love going to battle with them. That Tampa club is awesome, and were on top in our league the entire year. To be able to be in the winners bracket is a very fortunate position to be in. All of the credit goes to our kids."
NSU will return to action tomorrow night at 7 p.m. CT in a matchup with top-seeded host Delta State. For complete coverage log onto NSUSharks.com or follow the Sharks on Twitter @NSU_Baseball. For more tournament information, click here.
