BOCA RATON, Fla. – Scoring in bunches, the No. 18 Nova Southeastern baseball team (25-13, 14-9 SSC) jumped out to a big lead early over Lynn (16-22, 6-17 SSC) on Saturday in the second game of the series, providing run support behind a strong pitching effort by freshman starter
Nathan Campbell. Although the Fighting Knights rallied late against NSU relievers at the Lynn Baseball Field, the Sharks were able to shut the door on the 10-7 victory to win the fifth conference series of the year.
INSIDE THE MATCHUP:
Final Score: Nova Southeastern –
10, Lynn –
7
Records: Nova Southeastern (25-13, 14-9 SSC), Lynn (16-22, 6-17 SSC)
Location: Lynn Baseball Field | Boca Raton, Fla.
Get Social: Twitter - @NSU_Baseball | Instagram - @NSU_Baseball | Facebook - /NSUSharksAthletics
HOW IT HAPPENED:
After a quiet opening frame for both teams, the Sharks got into Lynn starter Zack Miednik in the second go-around.
Ian Acevedo put the Sharks in play after drawing a four-pitch leadoff walk in the second and
Christian Demby was hit five pitches later. Capitalizing on the opportunity, center fielder
Samuel Duran extended his hot streak, kicking off another big day on an RBI single sliced on a line shot through the right side. Keeping things rolling in his fifth start of the year, first baseman
Christian Kuzemka tacked on a sacrifice fly and second baseman
Daniel Irisarri hemmed up a three-run frame on an RBI single in the right center gap to score Duran.
Although the Fighting Knights were able to work out a score in the home half of the frame on a Luis Beltran RBI groundout, Campbell (W, 6-3) settled in to earn the win and held Lynn without a score for the remaining frames of in his 6.1-inning outing, limiting them to just three further hits. Campbell finished with five hits, the one run, while issuing a single walk in his seventh and final frame right before making his exit after fanning Lynn leader Shayne Fontana for his third strikeout
In the meantime, the Sharks added a pair of multi-RBI frames. Duran cashed in on a leadoff walk again in the fourth with his first home run of the year, edging over the left center wall for a two-run bomb and the 5-1 NSU lead - sending Lynn for a bullpen call to retire Miednik in favor of Victor Danza. After back-to-back NSU singles opened the fifth against Danza, Garret Wolforth got into the scoring action on an RBI groundout. Entering the order to replace Acevedo in the bottom of the second, right fielder
Bryan Diaz doubled just inside the bag at first to bring home
Andrew Labosky on the RBI. Kuzemka notched another NSU two-bagger, this time to the left off reliever Anthony Franco, plating Diaz for the 8-1 advantage.
Logging insurance runs that would prove important for the Sharks, Diaz added a ninth-inning RBI groundout and Wolforth scored on a wild pitch to push NSU to double digits for the third time in the last four games.
The Fighting Knights made some headway down the stretch against relievers
Cameron Schmidt and
Anthony Difede, making up six runs off the deficit before
JP Williams finally closed the book on the day with bases loaded in the bottom of the ninth to earn his second save. With the win, the Sharks claim their fifth Sunshine State Conference series and second in a row.
STATS OF THE DAY:
- The Sharks grow their series lead to 58-54 over the Fighting Knights.
- NSU made 10 runs for the second time against Lynn, scattered across four innings.
- Duran's dominant April continues with a team-high 3-for-4 performance, driving in three runs and scoring two of his own - bringing his six-game run to 12-for-16 for a .750 average, with nine RBI and seven runs.
- Diaz was also 2-for-4 with two RBI and one run, while Duncan Pastore got the Sharks started as the leadoff with a 2-for-5 performance and one run.
- While the Sharks cashed in on opportunities at a 45.5 percent rate (5-for-11), Lynn was limited, going just .200 (3-for-15) with runners in scoring position. NSU stranded 13 LU runners.
- The Sharks hit at a .371 average (13-for-35) in Saturday's game.
HEAR FROM COACH GREG BROWN
UP NEXT:
The Sharks close out the Lynn series on Sunday with a first pitch scheduled 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.
