FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – Ian Acevedo's lead-off homer in the bottom of the sixth broke a 2-2 tie before
Jake Anchia smashed a solo shot an inning later, as No. 15 Nova Southeastern powered its way to its seventh consecutive Sunshine State Conference win with a 5-2 triumph over Rollins Friday evening at the NSU Baseball Complex. Anchia's blast marked his fifth over the last four ball games, while
Nik Sanders tossed three effective innings out of the bullpen to secure the series win for the Sharks.
INSIDE THE MATCHUP:
Score: Nova Southeastern 5, Rollins 2
Records: Nova Southeastern (19-9, 11-3 SSC), Rollins (16-13, 4-7 SSC)
Location: NSU Baseball Complex | Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
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HOW IT HAPPENED:
Nova Southeastern jumped out to an early 2-0 edge in the second inning following RBI's by freshmen
Nathan Chevalier and
Jeffrey Cyr. Rollins starter Cameron Enck would limit the damage, though, and watch his club cut the margin in half on an infield single in the top half of the fourth.
Sharks' right-hander
Brady Acker worked his way in and out of trouble throughout most of the day, and exited with the 2-1 lead after five innings of play. He would earn the no-decision, however, following a sixth-inning sacrifice fly that evened the contest at 2-2.
Having finally gathered its first real momentum of the weekend, the Tars quickly had it wrestled away as Acevedo lifted the first pitch of the bottom of the sixth deep over the wall in left center for his second dinger of the season. With two runners aboard and two outs later in the same inning,
Dylan Harris would prolong the rally after reaching on a dropped third strike. The miscue would soon haunt the Tars, too, with
Nick Gallo collecting a bases-loaded walk in the ensuing at-bat to extend the advantage to 4-2.
A shutdown inning by Sanders in the top of the seventh flipped things back to the offense when Anchia sent the 1-1 offering from Rollins reliever Caleb Jakes deep into the setting sun for his second homer in as many days.
Trailing 5-2 in the ninth, Rollins brought the tying run to the plate with two outs. Closer
Joe Strzelecki would slam the door shut on the comeback attempt, though, striking out Nick Santucci to pick up the save.
STATS OF THE NIGHT:
- Through 18 innings this weekend, the Nova Southeastern pitching staff has surrendered just one earned run.
- Duran followed up last night's 2-for-4 effort with two more hits on Saturday to lead the way offensively for the Sharks.
- Five different players combined for the Sharks' five RBIs (Acevedo, Anchia, Chevalier, Cyr and Gallo).
- With Friday's save, Strzelecki now owns sole possession of the team lead with three.
UP NEXT:
The Sharks will look to capture their second straight series sweep when both sides meet in the weekend final Saturday at 12 p.m. ET. For complete coverage of the action, follow the Sharks on Twitter @NSU_Baseball or visit the
schedule page on NSUSharks.com.
