Skip To Main Content

Nova Southeastern University Athletics

OFFICIAL WEBSITE OF NOVA SOUTHEASTERN UNIVERSITY ATHLETICS
acevedo
18
Winner Nova Southeastern NSUB 23-9, 15-3 SSC
13
Saint Leo SLB 26-8, 9-6 SSC
Winner
Nova Southeastern NSUB
23-9, 15-3 SSC
18
Final
13
Saint Leo SLB
26-8, 9-6 SSC
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Nova Southeastern NSUB 6 0 4 1 1 0 6 0 0 18 19 2
Saint Leo SLB 0 3 0 0 5 3 0 2 0 13 15 2

W: Churchill, Cameron (3-0) L: Oscar Gordillo (4-2)

Game Recap: Baseball |

Offense Comes Alive Again in Sweep of Saint Leo

Sharks score 18 runs on 19 hits for 11th straight SSC win, third straight sweep.

SAINT LEO, Fla. – It was a new day with the same offensive showcase that the No. 15 Nova Southeastern Sharks had on display all weekend as they defeated the No. 22 Saint Leo Lions, 18-13, on Sunday afternoon, to complete the three-game sweep.

INSIDE THE MATCHUP:
Score: Nova Southeastern 18, Saint Leo 13
Records: Nova Southeastern (23-9, 15-3 SSC), Saint Leo (26-8, 9-6 SSC)
Location: Thomas B. Southard Stadium | Saint Leo, Fla.
Get Social: Twitter - @NSU_Baseball | Instagram - @NSU_Baseball | Facebook - /NSUSharksAthletics

HOW IT HAPPENED:
Just like yesterday, the Sharks got the scoring going right out of the gate. Despite starting the top of the first with a pair of outs, they had seven straight batters reach for a six-run, two-out rally. Andrew Liberty scored first on a double by Jake Anchia, who then scored on a single from Ian Acevedo. With the bases loaded, Nathan Chevalier got everyone in with a single of his own, advancing all the way to third on a Lions error on the play and, after an early pitching change, came into to the score the final run of the inning on a wild pitch.

The Lions got to starter Derik Beauprez with a three-run homer to right field, but the Sharks answered right back with another big inning of their own.
 
Samuel Duran smacked a double to left-center, scoring two, and after stealing third base, crossed the plate on a Nathan Chevalier groundout. Two batters later, Dylan Harris hit his third home run of the series to put the Sharks ahead 10-3, his first return to Saint Leo after playing four years with the Lions. Dominic Diana hit his first homer in a Shark uniform the next inning, followed by a Nick Gallo RBI single in the fifth, increasing the lead to 12-3.

Beauprez entered the bottom half of the inning having retired seven in a row, four of which were by way of the strikeout, but the Lions started to rally again, including their second three-run home run of the game. After Cameron Churchill came in to pitch, they added a two-run single before the Sharks were able to end the threat.
 
The Sharks got a rough break in the sixth, as Jeffrey Cyr hit into a line drive double play to second with the bases loaded. That came back to hurt them later, as the Lions used their third three-run homer to cut what was once a nine-run Sharks lead down to just one, 12-11.
 
Feeling Saint Leo getting too close, the Sharks teed off for another six-run inning in the seventh. With the bases loaded, Acevedo got two in with a single, and Diana added another run with one of his own, his fifth hit of the game. Chevalier doubled into the right field corner to score two more and Cyr got the inning's final run in with a groundout.

Michael Gizzi threw a 1.1 scoreless innings before handing it off to Jarret Krzyzanowski, who allowed the game's final two runs in the eighth, and Joe Stzelecki struck out a pair of batters in a scoreless ninth to complete the sweep.

STATS OF THE GAME:
  • Making his first start in three weeks, Dominic Diana had a team and career-high five hits and four runs scored, in addition to the first home run of his Sharks career. He came into the game with four runs total on the season.
  • Nathan Chevalier drove in a team and career-high five runs. He had six RBI total in last 11 games coming into the game.
  • Dylan Harris has now homered in back-to-back games for the third time this season. He had home runs in consecutive games just once last season. He is also up to nine homers on the year, after coming into the season with 12 in his career at Saint Leo, including a career-high of five as a sophomore in 2014-15.
 
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE:
  • As a team, the Sharks tallied 47 runs on 59 hits in the three-game series, with a .428 batting average and a .717 slugging percentage. They scored double-digit runs in each game of a series for the first time since April 15-16, 2016, when they scored 11, 10 and 10, respectively, in a three-game home sweep of Rollins. This is their highest run total ever in an SSC series, topping their previous best of 44 in a three-game home sweep of Lynn on May 7-8 to end the 2010 regular season.
  • After 257 career hits in his Lions career, Dylan Harris added two more hits today, both home runs, and now leads the team with 55 in 3 games. He's up to 312 total, third all-time in SSC history and tied for 18th all-time in NCAA Division II history. He also extended his team-longest hitting and on-base streaks to 16 and 20 games, respectively.
  • The Sharks have now won 11 SSC games in a row, matching their longest streak in program history, from March 19 through April 29 of 2016, including consecutive sweeps of Saint Leo, Barry and Rollins, en route to the first National Championship in program history.
  • They also swept the Saint Leo Lions for the fifth year in a row and the ninth time in ten seasons, the last eight of which have all been in SSC play. This is the first time the Sharks have swept an SSC series against the same opponent in five straight seasons.
 
UP NEXT:
The Sharks will go for the series sweep on Sunday at 1:00 p.m. For complete coverage of the action, follow the Sharks on Twitter @NSU_Baseball or visit the schedule page on NSUSharks.com.
Print Friendly Version