FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – Outside of a shaky fourth-inning, Nova Southeastern starting pitcher
Brady Acker was near perfect Saturday afternoon. Push that rough patch aside, and the right-hander allowed just one additional base runner in his seven innings on the hill to go along with a season-high 12 strikeouts, as the 14
th-ranked Sharks upended Lynn 5-3 to clinch the Sunshine State Conference series win.
Andrew Liberty collected two hits, including the go-ahead RBI in the seventh, lifting head coach
Greg Brown's club to an impressive 11h consecutive victory.
INSIDE THE MATCHUP:
Score: Nova Southeastern 5, Lynn 3
Records: Nova Southeastern (25-9, 17-3 SSC), Lynn (20-19, 9-14 SSC)
Location: NSU Baseball Complex | Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
Get Social: Twitter - @NSU_Baseball | Instagram - @NSU_Baseball | Facebook - /NSUSharksAthletics
HOW IT HAPPENED:
Acker needed no time settling in on Saturday. The junior racked up seven strikeouts the first time through the Lynn order, retiring all nine batters in a row. With his dominant display on the mound, the Sharks manufactured a pair of sacrifice flies in each of the second and third innings to grab a 2-0 edge.
The perfect start came to a screeching halt in the top of the fourth inning, though. Following a lead-off double, the Fighting Knights used a bloop single into left center to cut the deficit in half before climbing in front 3-2 thanks to a Shayne Fontana two-run double. Lynn threatened for more, yet Acker induced a much-needed 6-3 double play to escape the jam, a play that became more important as the ball game wore on.
Still trailing 3-2 in the home half of the fifth, Nova Southeastern put a pair of runners in scoring position following a one-out walk by
Nick Gallo and a double off the wall in left by Liberty. Just moments later,
Jake Anchia knotted the contest back up, recording one of four sac flies on the afternoon for the Sharks.
The game remained deadlocked at 3-3 with one away in the bottom of the seventh when Gallo advanced all the way to third on a dropped fly ball at the warning track. As they have thus far this weekend, the Sharks once again made the Fighting Knights pay, as Liberty roped the first pitch of the ensuing at-bat right back through the chute for the go-ahead run.
Lynn didn't go away quietly, however. Fresh off the bench, pinch-hitter DJ Daniels opened the eighth with a single into center. He would soon move up 90 feet on a sac bunt, and stood on second with two outs and all-region shortstop Patrick Dorrian at the plate. Faced with a 2-1 count against Sharks' reliever
Michael Gizzi, Dorrian laced a liner back up the middle with what appeared would be the game-tying hit. Second baseman
Jeffrey Cyr ranged to his right, though, and made a clutch, diving back-handed stop before throwing onto first to keep the one-run lead intact.
Showing off the all-around game, Cyr would tack on some insurance with a sac fly later in the eighth, allowing Nova Southeastern to eventually hold on the for the narrow win.
STATS OF THE NIGHT:
- Dominic Diana finished 2-for-2 at the dish, joining Liberty as the only two Sharks with multi-hit efforts on Saturday.
- Gizzi tossed two scoreless innings in relief, earning save No. 3 in the process.
- Acker becomes the fourth different NSU pitcher this season to record double-digit strikeouts in a game, joining Derik Beauprez, Devin Conn and Nik Sanders.
UP NEXT:
The Sharks will look to rack up their fourth straight sweep when both sides conclude the weekend series Sunday at noon. For complete coverage of the action, follow the Sharks on Twitter @NSU_Baseball or visit the
schedule page on NSUSharks.com.
