ST. LEO, Fla. – Despite holding a 6-5 lead heading into the bottom of the seventh of the series finale, the Nova Southeastern softball team suffered a series loss at the hands of the host Saint Leo Lions on Saturday afternoon. The Sharks fell, 4-1, in the first game of the day before SLU took the nightcap with a walk-off 7-6 win.
INSIDE THE MATCHUP:
FINAL SCORE: No. 10 Saint Leo Lions 4 (W: A. Mounts, 8-4), Nova Southeastern Sharks 4 (L: L. Sprengers, 5-3)
RECORDS: NSU (13-13, 3-5 SSC), SLU (19-7, 5-6 SSC)
LOCATION: University Softball Stadium | St. Leo, Fla.
ALL TIME SERIES: Lions lead Sharks 35-26
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HOW IT HAPPENED:
BOTTOM 2ND: The Lions grabbed a 4-0 lead in the top of the second, as RBI-singles by SLU's McKenna, Creamer and Morris after a Shark error all tallied all four unearned runs.
TOP 7TH: NSU's lone run of the game came in the top of the seventh, as
Dana Edmundson led off with a single to left field and was advanced to second by a
Lexie Storrer single to center, only to be brought home on an RBI-single by
Keeley Mayers a batter later.
INSIDE THE STATS:
- Edmundson was 2-for-3 with a run scored, while Storrer was also 2-for-3.
- Mayers and Daniela Bautista accounted for the other two of NSU's six hits recorded.
- After 6.0 innings in the circle, Dominique Sprengers fell to 5-3 on the season, allowing four runs (0 ER) on 11 hits with three strikeouts.
INSIDE THE MATCHUP:
FINAL SCORE: No. 10 Saint Leo Lions 7 (W: A. Mounts, 8-4), Nova Southeastern Sharks 6 (L: L. Storrer. 8-11)
RECORDS: NSU (13-14, 3-6 SSC), SLU (20-7, 6-6 SSC)
LOCATION: University Softball Stadium | St. Leo, Fla.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
BOTTOM 1ST: The Lions were once again the first to reach the board, taking a 2-0 lead on an RBI-single by Pauscher.
BOTTOM 2ND: Saint Leo increased their lead an inning later as a throwing error by the Sharks allowed a runner to cross the plate for a 3-0 home-team advantage.
TOP 3RD: The Sharks exploded for five runs in the top of the third, taking a 5-3 lead. Mayers drew a lead-off walk before a sacrifice bunt by Bautista pushed her into scoring position at second. After another walk, this time drawn by
Megan Maloney, a single by
Sydney Lageyre loaded the bases.
Kailynn Blackwood drew the third walk of the inning to put NSU on the board, before a two-RBI single up the middle by Edmundson knotted the game, 3-3, scoring Maloney and Lageyre. A double to left center by Sprengers scored Blackwood for NSU's first lead of the day, 4-3, and a sacrifice fly by Storrer pushed NSU ahead, 5-3, representing NSU's last run of the inning.
BOTTOM 4TH: The Lions cut the deficit to just one run in the fourth, 5-4, with a ground out to second by Morris.
BOTTOM 6TH: Two innings later, SLU's James sent an RBI-double to left to knot the game for the last time, 5-5.
TOP 7TH: An RBI-single by Edmundson to score Maloney, her third RBI tallied of the game, put NSU back on top, 6-5, with just three outs to go.
BOTTOM 7TH: With runners at second and third, a two-RBI single up the middle by SLU's McKenna represented the final two runs needed by the Lions to insure the 7-6 walk-off win.
INSIDE THE STATS:
- Edumundson had a day at the plate, finishing 2-for-3 with three RBI and one run scored.
- Blackwood was 1-for-3 with an RBI as was Storrer. Lageyre was also 1-for-3 and scored once.
- Mayers drew two walks.
- Storrer fell to 8-11 with the loss, pitching the full 6.2 innings and giving up seven runs (six ER) on 12 hits.
BEYOND THE BOXSCORE:
- Edmundson's three RBI in the night cap moved her to 19 RBI on the season, moving her to No. 5 in the conference rankings.
UP NEXT:
NSU will return back to the AD Griffin Sports Complex next weekend to host Tampa in a three-game SSC series starting on Friday, Mar. 16 at 6:00 p.m.
SHARKS ON SOCIAL MEDIA:
Follow along with live Twitter updates by following @NSU_Softball.
