TAMPA, Fla. – The fifth-seeded Nova Southeastern (33-16) baseball team made the first step in their 'survive and advance' move through the lower bracket at the NCAA South I Regional at UT Baseball Field, battling out of a tight contest to eliminate eighth-seeded Spring Hill (29-22) and moving on to the nightcap rematch with West Florida. Facing a middle-innings deficit, power displays from seniors
Garrett Wolforth and
Christian Demby swung the momentum in NSU's favor.
INSIDE THE MATCHUP:
Final Score: Nova Southeastern –
6, Spring Hill –
3
Records: Nova Southeastern (33-16), Spring Hill (29-22)
Location: UT Baseball Field | Tampa, Fla.
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HOW IT HAPPENED:
The Sharks made their offensive presence known early, capitalizing on a fielding error that placed designated hitter
Andrew Labosky aboard in the first, as left fielder Demby shot an RBI double into the right center alley. However, the Sharks offense fell quiet with only the small lead.
After three solid opening innings for
Matt Ornelas, Spring Hill found a hitting vein and not only knotted things up, but worked ahead into the middle innings. John Sklopan lined a double straight down the right field line to knot the score at 1-1 in the bottom of the fourth. The Badgers continued their push into the fifth, as Spencer Miller lifted an SHC go-ahead home run to left field. Four consecutive bat contacts gave the Badgers a 3-1 lead, as Daniel Rodriguez fired a single up the middle. A fourth score died on the basepath as
Samuel Duran put the throw from center field on target to catch Rodriguez at third before Brennan Fontenot crossed the plate.
The deficit provided a clear offensive spark for the Sharks and NSU began to take its toll on SHC starter Luke Dykes, as Labosky led off with a single and quickly arrived home – Wolforth followed with a two-run no-doubter to right field, tying the score at 3-all. Demby followed three pitches later with a solo home run crushed to the trees in left center for NSU to reclaim the lead.
Ornelas (W, 3-1) made it 5.1 innings before the Sharks handed off the ball to
Gil Torres, who pushed NSU out a jam in the bottom of the sixth without any damage. Torres handed off to
Anthony Difede,
Joe Smeton and
Kyle Kilbourne, who kept the board blanked for the final three frames.
The Sharks worked to put some insurance runs on the board and the offense delivered in the final two frames as Duran used an
Ian Acevedo leadoff single in the eighth to notch another with an RBI single through the left side. A Labosky double in the ninth set up Demby for his third RBI on his third hit, bringing the totals to 6-3 on an RBI single to center field.
With the victory over Spring Hill, the Sharks move on for a rematch with West Florida, who fell in the early game against top-seeded Tampa.
STATS OF THE DAY:
- In Spring Hill's first appearance in the NCAA tournament, the Sharks are now 1-0 against the Badgers after their first meeting.
- Ornelas earned his third win on 5.1 innings with eight hits and three runs, walking three with one strikeout.
- Pitching the final 0.2 innings, Kilbourne earned his first career save, allowing no hits and striking out one Badger.
- After a limited opening round, Labosky was hot for the Sharks, hitting 3-for-5 with two runs against SHC.
- Demby remained hot with a 3-for-5 performance, scoring once and driving in three runs - he's 5-for-9 with five RBI so far in the Regional.
- The first six batters in the NSU order each had a hit, three with multiple.
- The Sharks collected four stolen bases, paced by Acevedo with a pair – Spring Hill had just one steal.
UP NEXT
Nova Southeastern plays a 7:30 p.m. elimination rematch against West Florida. The Argonauts ralled to defeat NSU, 5-4 in the opening round, and lost to Tampa to open Friday's games, 9-1. The loser will be eliminated and the winner will move on to face Tampa in the Regional Final.
