LAKELAND, Fla. – One strike away from evening up the series, Nova Southeastern watched Florida Southern scrape across the game-tying run on an infield single in the ninth before a game-deciding error clinched the 6-5 victory for the Moccasins in 10 innings Saturday in Lakeland, Fla. Jake Anchia mashed a two-run shot as part of a four-run eighth that put the Sharks on top late, yet head coach Greg Brown's club was unable to nail the door shut in an emotional ball game that very well may be a preview of NCAA South Region matchup in the coming weeks.

INSIDE THE MATCHUP:
Score: Florida Southern 6, Nova Southeastern 5 (10 Innings)
Records: Florida Southern (36-5-1, 19-4 SSC), Nova Southeastern (29-12, 21-5 SSC)
Location: Henley Field | Lakeland, Fla.
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HOW IT HAPPENED:
Bumped up into the five hole in the lineup, Samuel Duran made Brown's move pay off by belting a solo homer in the second inning to tally the first run of the ball game. The early lead nearly doubled in the ensuing at-bat, too, but Dominic Diana's would-be dinger was robbed over the wall in right to keep the one-run margin intact.

The 1-0 edge would hold up until a pair of costly throwing errors in the bottom of the third resulted in two unearned runs for Florida Southern.

Nova Southeastern starter Brady Acker brushed off the miscues, though, by posting zeroes in the fourth, fifth and sixth innings. However, the right-hander would run into a bit of trouble in the bottom of the seventh when Mocs' right fielder Vaun Brown connected on his second homer in as many days to stretch Florida Southern's cushion to 4-1.

Staring at an uphill battle, the Sharks sparked a rally after pinch-hitters Bryan Diaz and Andrew Labosky both reached to open the top of the eighth. After Dylan Harris was retired for the first out of the inning, Nick Gallo snuck a liner just inside the third-base bag for a two-run double to close the gap to 4-3. The tying run sat just 90 feet away following a stolen base by Gallo, yet it didn't matter, as Anchia sent the 1-2 offering from Florida Southern reliever J.T. Hintzen off the batting cage facility in right field to push the Sharks back in front 5-4.

The final out always proves to be the toughest, though, and showed why for the Sharks on Saturday. Faced with runners on the corners and two outs and two strikes in the ninth, Florida Southern's Cody Burgess slapped a ground ball just deep enough into the hole at short to score the runner from third, forcing extra innings.

In the 10^th, Nova Southeastern issued an intentional pass to Logan Browning to put the double play in order with one out. A well-executed pitch by Joe Strzelecki induced a grounder to second, but a booted ball in the infield would allow for the game-winning run to come around and seal the 6-5 final.  

STATS OF THE NIGHT:

• With a bunt single in the top of the third inning, Harris set the new NSU all-time hit streak record, surpassing Jancarlos Cintron with at least one hit in 25 straight games.
• Acker finished the evening with eight strikeouts in seven innings of work, allowing four runs (two earned) on eight hits while walking just one.
• The Sharks' four errors on Saturday tied a season-high

UP NEXT:
The Sharks will look to salvage the series when both clubs meet in the weekend finale on Sunday at 1 p.m. ET. For complete coverage of the action, follow the Sharks on Twitter @NSU_Baseball or visit the schedule page on NSUSharks.com.