FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – Senior right-hander
Derik Beauprez cruised through six scoreless innings on the mound, while the offense capitalized when needed, as No. 15 Nova Southeastern blanked Rollins 3-0 Saturday afternoon to earn the Sunshine State Conference series sweep. Beauprez collected six strikeouts to improve to 5-1 on the year, lifting the Sharks to their first shutout since Apr. 7, 2017 against Palm Beach Atlantic.
INSIDE THE MATCHUP:
Score: Nova Southeastern 3, Rollins 0
Records: Nova Southeastern (20-9, 12-3 SSC), Rollins (16-14, 4-8 SSC)
Location: NSU Baseball Complex | Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
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HOW IT HAPPENED:
Still scoreless early on in the bottom of the second inning,
Samuel Duran injected some life into the Nova Southeastern dugout with a solo shot, his second of the season, on a ball hammered deep into left center. The Sharks would tack on another run an inning later when
Andrew Liberty beat out an infield single to score
Jeffrey Cyr from third.
Staked to the 2-0 lead, Beauprez continued to roll, keeping the Rollins lineup off balance with a well-executed mix of pitches. The Tars put the lead-off batter aboard in both the fourth and fifth innings, yet Beauprez kept the runners stationed at first each time, getting Brendan Brundage to fly out to end the top of the fifth.
The Sharks forced Rollins starter Brad Case from the ball game in the home half of the sixth, and instantly took advantage.
Ian Acevedo opened the inning with a single up the middle that was soon followed by consecutive hit-by-pitches to load the bases with no outs.
Nathan Chevalier stepped to the dish in the ensuing at-bat, and lifted a sacrifice fly deep enough to right to allow Acevedo to cross the plate standing up.
Now in front 3-0, Nova Southeastern turned to its bullpen and received a similar result as it had all weekend long.
Ryan Maya worked two scoreless frames before
Joe Strzelecki nailed down his second save in as many days to secure the second straight sweep for the Sharks.
STATS OF THE NIGHT:
- Acevedo, Cyr and Liberty led the way offensively with two hits apiece in the victory.
- Duran recorded four extra-base hits throughout the series, matching his entire season total entering the weekend.
- One the mound, the Sharks surrendered just one earned run and two extra-base hits over the course of the three games against the Tars.
- Dylan Harris added two more stolen bases on Saturday, running his SSC-leading total to 18 on the season.
- Nova Southeastern never trailed during the series.
UP NEXT:
The Sharks will hit the road next Friday for the first of three against No. 24 Saint Leo. For complete coverage of the action, follow the Sharks on Twitter @NSU_Baseball or visit the
schedule page on NSUSharks.com.
