ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – The No. 18 Nova Southeastern Sharks (28-15, 16-11 SSC) brought the bats across the two-day weather-delayed stretch against the Eckerd Tritons (26-14, 15-9 SSC) at the Turley Athletic Complex, splitting the final two games of the series despite putting up 22 runs. The series closed on an NSU victory as the Sharks went big with the long ball early and late defense kept the Tritons out of range in the 12-9 win.
 
INSIDE THE MATCHUP:
Game 2 Final Score: Eckerd – 12, Nova Southeastern – 10
Game 3 Final Score: Nova Southeastern – 12, Eckerd – 9
Records: Eckerd (26-14, 15-9 SSC), Nova Southeastern (28-15, 16-11 SSC)
Location: Turley Athletic Complex | St. Petersburg, Fla.
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HOW IT HAPPENED:
It was a wild see-saw matchup in game two of the series, which was also forced to span two days due to lightning and thunderstorms in the St. Petersburg area. Started on Friday, the game saw four lead changes and three ties before coming to completion early on Saturday afternoon.
 
The Sharks were the first to strike, as Duncan Pastore led off with a single and Garrett Wolforth cashed him in with an RBI double to left center for the early NSU lead – a stark contrast to Thursday's rare shutout. However, the Tritons fired right back in the home half, with Mitch Calandra opening up another big game on an RBI single.
 
Calandra would land another spear in the bottom of the second, capping off a six-run Eckerd inning with a three-run homer to left field, making the most of the 25-30 mph winds at the Turley Athletic Complex.
 
The Sharks were down, but refused to be out, and fired right back in the third with a two-run Christian Demby single into right center, followed five pitches later by a two-run Samuel Duran homer to cut the deficit to two runs. An EC sacrifice fly in the bottom frame grew the lead back out to 8-5.
 
Once again the Sharks came roaring back, and again the Tritons answered. Wolforth used a pair of walks to set up a three-run homer crushed to right field off fresh reliever Joey Favetta, knotting the score at 8-all. However, Calanda struck again in the home half, edging Eckerd back in front 9-8 with an RBI single.
 
Pastore's RBI groundout in the sixth produced the third tie and again it was Calandra that broke it, pushing a two-run single through the right side and an RBI hit batter extended the run count to three on the inning.
 
Just as the Sharks started to make their move, the weather turned fully against the contest. Wolforth led off the seventh with a single and moved both into scoring position and back home on wild pitches. Using the momentum against reliever Jarid Salisbury, the Sharks loaded the bases with no outs – then lightning struck nearby and the inbound thunderstorms forced the game to a halt until Saturday.
 
Coming back into the game on a new day, the Sharks were unable to capitalize with the moment gone, induced into a double play and a pop-up against reversed winds at the same velocity and a fresh pitcher.
 
Neither team tacked up any runs in the continuation and the Sharks saw the comeback attempt end in a 12-10 Eckerd win.
 
Returning in the game three finale, the Sharks found their typical steady offensive footing for the first time in the series, opening the first with a single, an error, a hit batter and then a career-first Bryan Diaz grand slam to jump out to an early 4-0 lead. A second NSU home run was delivered by Brandon Chinea in the second before the Tritons could get their offense in gear.
 
However, Eckerd did fire back in the home half with a Mitch Donofrio three-run homer to slice into the Sharks' advantage.
 
Undeterred, the Sharks defense tightened up and NSU opened the fourth with three consecutive hits, including a two-run Andrew Labosky slow-bouncing single dead up the middle that brought home Jeffrey Cyr and Pastore. Then Diaz struck again with a two-run double, winning against a diving center fielder and keeping NSU alive for a Mike Rojas RBI single deep into outer left field to complete the five-run inning.
 
Typical for the series to date, the Tritons came storming back in the bottom of the fifth, lifting a Garrett Hiott grand slam and Justin Glover home run to draw the NSU advantage down to 10-8.
 
Across the seventh and eighth, the Sharks put up key insurance runs to put pressure on Eckerd, aided by a stand-up relief effort from JP Williams to silence the Tritons' bats. Pastore added an RBI single and Labosky scored on an error to keep Eckerd at a safer distance.
 
Although the Tritons notched a sacrifice fly in the ninth, Williams and the Sharks defense held the line late to close the series on a victory. Williams (W, 4-1) went five innings of relief, striking out four and allowing just three runs on eight hits and a walk.
 
It was a monster career game for Diaz, who went 5-for-5 with six RBI and two runs scored.
 
STATS OF THE SECOND PAIR:

• The Sharks' series lead over the Tritons moves to 52-17 on the split.
• Diaz went 5-for-8 across the two games, hitting .625 with six RBI and two runs.
• Wolforth was 4-for-5 in game two and finished with two RBI and three runs across the pair.
• Hitting 3-for-8, Labosky scored four times and drove in two runs.
• Overall, NSU batted .368 as a team on Friday and Saturday, but the Tritons went .375.
• The Sharks were a solid .389 for leadoff hitters and hit .400 with runners in scoring position.
• The Sharks racked up 28 hits in the two games, including 19 in the finale with all nine starters collecting a base knock and eight scoring.
• The Sharks committed just one error in the two games.

UP NEXT:
The Sharks return to Fort Lauderdale for their final homestand, kicking off Tuesday in the final midweek game against Palm Beach Atlantic. Over a three-day weekend, the Sharks close the regular season hosting Florida Southern on Senior Weekend at the NSU Baseball Complex. For complete coverage of the action, follow the Sharks on Twitter @NSU_Baseball or visit the schedule page on NSUSharks.com.