FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – No. 9 Nova Southeastern has been a on a rampant tear since mid-March and doesn't appear to be slowing down anytime soon. Behind an 11-strikeout performance from
Brady Acker and back-to-back home runs by
Nick Gallo and
Andrew Liberty, the Sharks cruised past Eckerd 9-2 in game one of Saturday's doubleheader before using a five-run fifth inning to clinch the series sweep by a final score of 8-7 in the finale. Saturday's pair of victories sets a new program record for most Sunshine State Conference wins in a single season, and extends the Sharks' current streak in SSC play to a remarkable 17 consecutive games.
INSIDE THE MATCHUP:
Score (Game 1): Nova Southeastern 9, Eckerd 2
Score (Game 2): Nova Southeastern 8, Eckerd 7
Records: Nova Southeastern (29-10, 21-3 SSC), Eckerd (20-21, 10-14 SSC)
Location: NSU Baseball Complex | Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
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HOW IT HAPPENED:
GAME 1
Following a nail-biter in Friday's series opener, the Sharks made game one of the afternoon much easier on the fans.
Dylan Harris led off with an extra-base hit in the bottom of the first for the second time in as many days, and would soon record the ball game's first run on an infield, RBI-single by Liberty. Two batters later,
Ian Acevedo doubled the early lead to 2-0 on laser into left center before
Dominic Diana collected an RBI of his own on a perfectly placed bunt to the right side of the infield.
Still with the shutout intact in the bottom of the fourth, Nova Southeastern busted the flood gates wide open. Diana sparked the huge, five-run frame by legging out a double into the gap in right center.
Samuel Duran would match Diana with an ensuing double down the right field line, with
Jeffrey Cyr following up with an RBI-single to stretch the advantage to 5-0. With Cyr sitting over at first, Gallo deposited the 3-2 offering from Eckerd starter Nick Alonzo over the wall in left for his fifth homer of the season. The dingers kept coming too, as Liberty soon made it back-to-back jacks on a no-doubter lifted into the palm trees in left center.
The eight-run cushion was welcomed, but definitely not needed with Acker on the mound. The right-hander struck out the side in the top half of the fifth, and would eventually exit after allowing just one earned run while fanning 11 in six innings of work.
The Tritons would add one back in the seventh, but never truly threatened, securing the sixth straight SSC series win for the Sharks.
STATS OF THE NIGHT (GAME ONE):
- All nine starters logged at least one hit in the effort, including three from Liberty.
- Kyle Kilbourne tossed two scoreless innings to close the ball game, tallying a season-high five strikeouts in his appearance.
- Acker has now combined to record 23 strikeouts in 13 innings over his last two starts.
GAME 2
Similar to last Sunday's series finale against Lynn, Nova Southeastern dug itself into an early four-run hole. Yet once again, the opposition had no answer in the long run for the Sharks' relentless offensive attack.
Trailing 5-1 in the third, Nova Southeastern began to gradually chip away at the Eckerd lead. With a pair of runners in scoring position and two away, Gallo fought off a pitch in on his hands and dropped a two-run single into left to trim the margin to 5-3.
Freshman starter
Jarret Krzyzanowski would settle in during the middle innings with zeroes in the fourth and fifth before handing the keys right back over to the offense. The Sharks were faced with two outs and just one runner on in the bottom of the fifth, but soon exploded for four straight hits to take control of the contest.
Jake Anchia ignited the two-out rally with an RBI-double into the alley in left center that plated Harris from third. Consecutive singles up the middle by Acevedo and Chrisitan Demby handed Nova Southeastern its first lead of the contest at 6-5 when Duran put the exclamation point on the five-run inning with a two-run blast driven well over everything in left center.
Eckerd trimmed the margin to 8-7 in the eighth following a two-run homer by Tim Mira. However, closer
Joe Strzelecki put the hammer down in the ninth en route to save No. 6 on the year to wrap up another series sweep for head coach
Greg Brown and company.
STATS OF THE NIGHT (GAME TWO):
- Harris added three more hits in the series finale to stretch his hit streak to 23 games, one shy of the program record set by Jancarlos Cintron a year ago.
- NSU has now yet to drop a game in SSC play since Mar. 16 at Florida Tech.
UP NEXT:
NSU will travel to Lakeland, Fla. next Friday at 6 p.m. ET for game one of the much-anticipated series against No. 1 Florida Southern. For complete coverage of the action, follow the Sharks on Twitter @NSU_Baseball or visit the
schedule page on NSUSharks.com.
