WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – The No. 13 Nova Southeastern baseball team (18-8, 8-5 SSC) fell in the series opener at a streaking Palm Beach Atlantic (14-12, 4-6 SSC) squad on Friday at J.M. "Jake" Rubin Park, with a key four-run first inning by the Sailfish proving to make the difference in the loss.
INSIDE THE MATCHUP:
Score: Palm Beach Atlantic –
6 Nova Southeastern –
2
Records: Palm Beach Atlantic (14-12, 4-6 SSC), Nova Southeastern (18-8, 8-5 SSC)
Location: J.M. "Jake" Rubin Park | West Palm Beach, Fla.
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HOW IT HAPPENED:
With the Sharks squaring off against a Palm Beach Atlantic team that won seven of its last eight coming into the night, both teams put the leadoff batter aboard in the first on an error. However, the Sailfish were able to convert, as a single, a walk and a Brandon Seltzer sacrifice fly drove in the first run in PBA's favor. Taking the advantage further in the pivotal frame, the Sailfish followed with a three-run Danny Tufariello home run to put the Sharks in a 4-0 hole from the opening frame.
Although starter
Devin Meyer settled in for the subsequent two frames, shutting down the Sailfish, his second face-off with Tufariello ended in similar fashion – leading off the fourth with a solo home run dropped beyond the left field fence for a 5-0 PBA lead.
Responding swiftly, designated hitter
Andrew Labosky led off the fifth with a double to the warning track, made the heads-up play to take third on a wild pitch and crossed home thanks to a
Bryan Diaz sacrifice fly to put NSU on the board.
The Sharks opened their third consecutive inning with the leadoff man aboard on
Daniel Irisarri's sixth-inning single, again the Sharks capitalizing with a sacrifice fly – this time the RBI going to
Ian Acevedo.
The Sailfish were able to reclaim that run in the home half of the frame, as Meyer's third go-around with Tufariello met the same result – the redshirt senior designated hitter put his third home run out in left center, extending the PBA lead out to 6-2.
Although reliever
Ryan Maya contained the Sailfish for the final two frames, right-handed PBA closer Orson Josephina stood squarely in the path of the Sharks' rally, striking out 7-of-12 NSU batters faced across the final 3.1 innings to notch his third save.
STATS OF THE NIGHT:
- A long-standing series, the Sharks lead the overall record 67-25.
- The Sharks outhit the Sailfish 7-6, both committing one error.
- NSU left six Sharks aboard, while PBA stranded two.
- Meyer (4-2) suffers the loss, tossing 6.0 innings with six hits, two earned runs, one walk and six strikeouts.
- Maya threw 2.0 innings with no hits, one walk and one strikeout.
- Duncan Pastore went 2-for-4 to lead the Sharks, while Labosky was 1-for-2 with two walks, scoring one of NSU's runs after the fifth-inning leadoff double.
UP NEXT:
The Sharks head back to West Palm Beach and J.M. "Jake" Rubin Park for the Saturday afternoon continuation of the Sunshine State Conference series at PBA. First pitch is slated for 3:00 p.m. For complete coverage of the action, follow the Sharks on Twitter @NSU_Baseball or visit the
schedule page on NSUSharks.com.