BOCA RATON, Fla. – After being faced with a first-inning deficit, the No. 18 Nova Southeastern baseball team (24-13, 13-9 SSC) responded offensively in a major way, reeling off 16 runs on 20 hits and dominating the series opener against the Lynn Fighting Knights (16-21, 6-16 SSC) at the Lynn Baseball Field on Friday afternoon. Leading the effort, outfielder
Samuel Duran had a career day with 5-for-6 hitting and four runs, while the Sharks matched a season high with four home runs as a team.
INSIDE THE MATCHUP:
Final Score: Nova Southeastern –
16, Lynn –
2
Records: Nova Southeastern (24-13, 13-9 SSC), Lynn (16-21, 6-16 SSC)
Location: Lynn Baseball Field | Boca Raton, Fla.
Get Social: Twitter - @NSU_Baseball | Instagram - @NSU_Baseball | Facebook - /NSUSharksAthletics
HOW IT HAPPENED:
Shaking off a quartet of Lynn hits in the first that amounted to a 2-0 deficit on Alejandro Martinez' two-run double to right field, shortstop
Brandon Chinea responded by smacking his fourth home run of the year in the top of the second – driving in three runs for the quick-answer NSU advantage.
Lynn starter Nicholis Prather hung a curveball to
Christian Demby in the third, extending the NSU lead as the left-fielder belted a two-run homer deep beyond the left field fence – then tying
Garrett Wolforth for the team lead with his seventh dinger.
The Sharks unloaded on Prather in the top of the sixth, blowing the game wide open with seven hits. Kicking off the hit parade that saw the Sharks bat around and retire the Lynn starter, Duran led off with a single and first baseman
Christian Kuzemka made it back-to-back starts with a home run, crushing a two-run shot to left center. The Sharks offense took the cue and right fielder
Duncan Pastore added an RBI single through the right side. Wolforth quickly reclaimed his team homer lead, belting a three-run jack to right field for the fourth long ball of the game for NSU and the eighth of his season. Duran added an RBI single through the left side and the seemingly-unrelenting nine-run frame ended with Duran and Demby scoring on an error in the Lynn outfield – taking a 14-2 lead.
The Sharks continued to rack up runs, scoring again in two of the final three frames. Third baseman
Ian Acevedo got into the mix late, but made it count with an RBI single fired up the middle to score
Bryan Diaz in the seventh. Diaz notched one of his own in the eighth, knocking an RBI double to right field to score Duran for the fourth time and locking in the final score at 16-2.
Recovering from the early Lynn scoring, starter
Devin Meyer (W, 5-2) went on to toss a 5.0-inning outing to earn the victory, holding the Fighting Knights to just the two runs despite eight hits. Meyer dealt no walks and struck out two. Stepping right into prime action from the bullpen,
Kyle Kilbourne kept Lynn quiet with two hits in 2.0 innings, while
Jarret Krzyzanowski and
Tommy Barberi closed the door with no baserunners in the final two frames.
STATS OF THE DAY:
- The Sharks grow their series lead to 57-54 over the Fighting Knights.
- NSU hit four home runs for the second time this season, the last at North Greenville (2/16/19).
- The Sharks collected a season-high 20 hits in total, the most since the April 29 matchup last season at Florida Southern.
- 11 different NSU players with hits, including all 8-of-9 starters.
- All nine starters and Diaz scored a run in the opener.
- Duran is on a serious hot streak, pacing the team with a career-high 5-for-6 outing, scoring a career-best four times, while driving in another run. Duran went 4-for-6 last week in four games against Saint Leo and Palm Beach Atlantic and is hitting .750 with with six RBI and five runs in the last five games.
- Both Demby and Kuzemka were 2-for-5 with two RBI and two runs scored apiece. Chinea was also 2-for-5 with two runs scored and three RBI.
- The Sharks were 8-for-21 on opportunities with runners in scoring position.
FROM HEAD COACH GREG BROWN
UP NEXT:
The Sharks remain at the Fighting Knights with two more days of Lynn series action, first pitch on Saturday coming at 1:00 p.m. Sunday's finale is set for noon at the Lynn Baseball Field. For complete coverage of the action, follow the Sharks on Twitter @NSU_Baseball or visit the
schedule page on NSUSharks.com.
