GULF SHORES, Ala. – After battling weather on Friday afternoon that cancelled two games, the Nova Southeastern softball team opened up the 2020 season with a Saturday split, falling to the Lee Flames, 2-1, before routing the No. 4 West Florida Argonauts, 8-1.
INSIDE THE MATCHUP (GAME ONE VS. LEE):
FINAL: Lee Flames (W: L. Vasquez, 1-0), Nova Southeastern Sharks 1 (L: E. Hess, 0-1)
RECORDS: Nova Southeastern (0-1), Lee Flames (1-0)
LOCATION: Gulf Shores Sportsplex | Gulf Shores, Ala.
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HOW IT HAPPENED:
TOP 1ST | Leading off, Kayla Louie stole second and advanced to third on a ground out before a single by Taylor De Adder brought her home for a 1-0 Lee lead.
TOP 5TH | Madison Besaw started the inning off with a double down the right field line and after back-to-back ground outs, scored on a Louie single to left, pushing the Flames ahead, 2-0.
BOTTOM 7TH | After forcing Lee to leave a runner at third in the top of the inning, NSU hinted at a comeback as pinch runner Hayley Hendricks was brought home on an RBI-single by
Alexis Smith, cutting Lee's lead in half, 2-1. That would be as close as the Sharks would get as
Alex Suzuki, who doubled to right field, was caught at home and back-to-back ground outs ended the inning.
INSIDE THE STATS:
- Both teams tallied six hits apiece.
- Allie Janowiak led the Sharks, finishing 2-for-3.
- Sam Sisco, Juliana Speranza, Smith and Suzuki tallied the remaining four hits.
- Emily Hess took the loss, tossing all 7.0 innings and allowing two runs on six hits while delivering five strikeouts.
BEYOND THE BOXSCORE:
- With the loss, the Flames hold the overall series edge 2-0.
INSIDE THE MATCHUP (GAME TWO VS. NO. 4 WEST FLORIDA):
FINAL: Nova Southeastern Sharks 8 (W: S. Foster, 1-0), Palm Beach Atlantic Sailfish 1 (L: G. Gilbert, 0-1)
RECORDS: Nova Southeastern (1-1), No. 4 West Florida (1-1)
HOW IT HAPPENED:
BOTTOM 5TH | After four innings of scoreless play, the No. 4 Argonauts tallied their lone run of the game on a fielder's choice drawn by Mika Garcia.
TOP 6TH | With Sisco and
Sydney Lageyre on the corners, back-to-back throwing errors by UWF allowed the Sharks to take the lead, 2-1. Next, an RBI-single by
Mya Maddox brought home Sisco to make it 3-1 and after
Tia Williams singled to third and stole second, another RBI-single by Speranza brought home Maddox for a 3-1 NSU lead. The next batter,
Anina Fernandez, pushed it to 4-1 in favor of the Sharks after reaching on a fielder's choice, allowing just enough time for Williams to score.
TOP 7TH | With Smith on third and Lageyre on second, Sisco sent an RBI-double down the left field line to score Smith, making it 5-1. After a UWF pitching change, a wild pitch scored Sisco to advance NSU's lead to 6-1. An RBI-single by Williams brought home Sisco before Williams was plated by an RBI-double to left field by Janowiak, serving as the final tally for NSU, eventually becoming the final 8-1 score.
INSIDE THE STATS:
- Lageyre finished a solid 2-for-3 with two runs scored while Maddox was also 2-for-3 with one RBI and scored once.
- Williams went 2-for-4 with an RBI of her own and two scored runs.
- Speranza and Janowiak each finished 1-for-4 with an RBI apiece and Smith went 1-for-3, scoring once.
- Savannah Foster went the distance, allowing only one run on three hits with five strikeouts.
BEYOND THE BOXSCORE:
- Tonight's win signifies NSU's first win over a Top-10 program since No. 10 Saint Leo on March 9, 2018.
- This is also NSU's first win over West Florida since Feb. 7, 2014.
UP NEXT
The Sharks will finish play in the 2020 Gulf Shores Invitational tomorrow, competing against Delta State at 9:00 a.m. (CST) and Rogers State at 11:30 a.m. (CST).
SHARKS ON SOCIAL MEDIA:
Follow along with live updates on Twitter by following @NSU_Softball.
