LAKELAND, Fla. – In the series opener featuring two of the nation's Top-10 teams, it was a seventh-inning, three-run homer run that ultimately made the difference, as Florida Southern upended Nova Southeastern 7-4 Friday night in Lakeland, Fla. Samuel Duran and Nathan Chevalier launched back-to-back blasts in the fourth to even up the ball game, yet the Sharks would be held scoreless the rest of the way in their first Sunshine State Conference defeat since Mar. 16.

INSIDE THE MATCHUP:
Score: Florida Southern 7, Nova Southeastern 4
Records: Florida Southern (35-5-1, 18-4 SSC), Nova Southeastern (29-11, 21-4 SSC)
Location: Henley Field | Lakeland, Fla.
Get Social: Twitter - @NSU_Baseball | Instagram - @NSU_Baseball | Facebook - /NSUSharksAthletics

HOW IT HAPPENED:
In a contest headlined by both starting pitchers, it was the offenses on each side that dominated in the early going. Just two batters into the ball game, the Sharks jumped out in front 1-0 when Nick Gallo drilled a double down the third-base line to plate Dylan Harris all the way from first. That 1-0 edge soon doubled after Gallo scored easily on a sacrifice fly by Jake Anchia to deep right.

The momentum would quickly shift back in favor of the home team, though. The Moccasins cut the two-run lead in half on a lead-off homer before consecutive one-out singles put them on top 3-2.

Still 3-2 in the third, Florida Southern tacked onto its advantage with another solo shot, this time by SSC home run leader Hayden Marze. However, Nova Southeastern would weather the storm and respond loudly in the ensuing half inning. After Christian Demby was retired to begin the fourth, Duran lifted the 2-1 offering from Mocs' starter Logan Browning over the wall in dead center for his fourth homer of the season. Before the Shark faithful could even settle back in, Chevalier went deep to the identical part of the park to pull Nova Southeastern back even at 4-4.

Devin Conn found a bit of a rhythm with three straight zeroes to get Nova Southeastern to the seventh still deadlocked at 4-4. Ryan Maya would enter out the bullpen in the bottom of the inning, and record the first two outs of only two pitches. A pair of walks would prolong the inning, though, and instantly came back to haunt the Sharks as Vaun Brown connected on the go-ahead, three-run homer that eventually sealed the deal for the Mocs.

STATS OF THE NIGHT:

• Dylan Harris finished 1-for-4 at the dish to extend his current hit streak to 24 games, tying Jancarlos Cintron for the program record.
• Nova Southeastern stranded nine runners on the night, including three in the fifth inning after loading the bases with no outs.

UP NEXT:
The Sharks will look to even up the series with the Mocs in game two on Saturday. First pitch is set for 3 p.m. ET. For complete coverage of the action, follow the Sharks on Twitter @NSU_Baseball or visit the schedule page on NSUSharks.com.