FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – No. 13 Nova Southeastern (15-7, 6-4 SSC) saw its win streak end at six games, as miscues provided Florida Tech (14-7, 5-2 SSC) with excess opportunities in Friday night's series opener at the NSU Baseball Complex – the Panthers topping the Sharks 7-1 in the Sunshine State Conference contest.
INSIDE THE MATCHUP:
Score: Florida Tech –
7, Nova Southeastern –
1
Records: Florida Tech (14-7, 5-2 SSC) Nova Southeastern (15-7, 6-4 SSC)
Location: NSU Baseball Complex | Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
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HOW IT HAPPENED:
A clear pitcher's duel in the early going was disrupted by the first of seven combined errors on the night in the fourth inning. The Panthers were able to net the first run as a shallow fly went in-and-out of the glove of
Bryan Diaz, sending James Gronberg home unearned from second base for the Florida Tech 1-0 advantage.
Things settled back to the status quo, but again an error cost the Sharks again in the sixth, as a Gronberg shot on the dirt escaped the infield past
Daniel Irisarri – after the Panthers worked him around, Gronberg again crossed the plate on a Dylan Owens sacrifice fly. Florida Tech pounced on the momentum and added two more RBI to move ahead to a 4-0 lead.
Although the Sharks missed a big opportunity to respond in the bottom of the sixth with two runners in scoring position,
Brandon Chinea reach on a wild third strike in the seventh and made the most of
Garrett Wolforth's double to left center, coming in from second to put the Sharks on the board.
However, despite opportunities for NSU to jump back into the game, Florida Tech was able to expand their advantage in the ninth to six runs and shut down the Sharks at the plate in the latter frames, extending the Florida Tech win streak to nine games.
Starter
Devin Meyer pitched a solid six innings, the Panthers only getting to him at the end, with all FIT runs coming in unearned. He allowed four hits and four walks, striking out four, before handing off to four members of the bullpen.
In the end, none of the Florida Tech runs crossed as earned in the 7-1 NSU loss, with four scoring runners either reaching on an error or scoring on a miscue.
STATS OF THE GAME:
- In spite of the solid starting performance, Meyer (4-1) suffers his first loss of the year.
- At the plate, Ian Acevedo and Diaz led with 2-for-4 hitting.
- The Sharks kept hitting pace with the Panthers, who held a 9-8 hitting advantage.
- In total, the Sharks left 10 men on base, but also stranded eight Panthers.
FROM COACH GREG BROWN
UP NEXT:
On Saturday, the Sharks and Panthers will go back at it at the NSU Baseball Complex, starting a doubleheader 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.
