FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – Opening up the 2020 home slate, the Nova Southeastern softball team picked up two wins over Georgian Court on Friday night at the AD Griffin Sports Complex. NSU starting pitchers Emily Hess and Savannah Foster each notched 10 strikeouts apiece, helping the Sharks to 2-0 and 7-1 wins over the Lions.
 
INSIDE THE MATCHUP (GAME ONE):
FINAL: Nova Southeastern Sharks 2 (W: E. Hess, 2-1), Georgian Court Lions 0 (L: M. Gilgert, 0-1)
RECORDS: Nova Southeastern (3-2), Georgian Court (0-1)
LOCATION: AD Griffin Sports Complex | Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
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HOW IT HAPPENED:
 
BOTTOM 2ND | Leading off the inning, Juliana Speranza registered her first home run as a Shark, giving the home team a 1-0 advantage.
 
BOTTOM 4TH | With Tia Williams at second after drawing a leadoff walk and stealing, Anina Fernandez brought her home on an RBI-single up the middle.
 
INSIDE THE STATS:
 

• There were only three hits in the entire game, with Williams and Speranza registering NSU's two.
• Starting pitcher Emily Hess (2-1) went the distance, striking out 10 along the way. In 7.0 innings, she allowed just one hit, which didn't come until the sixth inning.

 
BEYOND THE BOXSCORE:
 

• With her 10 strikeouts, Hess tied the 2019 season's high, which only happened once on Apr. 3.
• The 10 K's are also Hess' career-high.

 
 
INSIDE THE MATCHUP (GAME TWO):
FINAL: Nova Southeastern Sharks 7 (W: S. Foster, 2-1), Georgian Court Lions 2 (L: J. Tellefsen, 0-1)
RECORDS: Nova Southeastern (4-2), Georgian Court (0-2)
 
HOW IT HAPPENED:
 
BOTTOM 1ST | With Sam Sisco on third and Mya Maddox on second, a single to left field by Williams was enough to bring Sisco home for a 1-0 Shark edge.
 
BOTTOM 3RD | With Maddox on third, Speranza tallied her second RBI of the night with a ground out to second, making it 2-0 in favor of NSU. After a single by Fernandez and a walk drawn by Allie Janowiak put the Sharks in scoring position, Alex Suzuki drilled a double to left field, scoring Fernandez and Janowiak to bring the score to 4-0 before getting caught by the third baseman to end the inning.
 
BOTTOM 4TH | NSU tallied another three runs in the fourth, the first coming on a passed ball on a walk drawn by Sydney Lageyre. After catching Lageyre at the plate on the play before, a sacrifice fly by Williams brought home Sisco and a throwing error by the Lions scored Maddox, who reached on a fielder's choice, serving as the last run of the game to make it 7-0 with NSU out in front.
 
TOP 7TH | The Lions tallied their lone run of the evening in the seventh, scoring on an RBI-single up the middle.
 
INSIDE THE STATS:
 

• The Sharks outhit the Lions 7-6 as Maddox led the Shark offense with two hits of her own in four at bats. She also scored twice and stole one base.
• Sisco, Williams and Fernandez were all 1-for-3. Sisco scored twice and Williams tallied a team-high three RBI.
• Suzuki was 1-for-2 with two RBI and Lageyre was also 1-for-2.
• Savannah Foster (2-1) pitched all 7.0 innings for NSU, racking up 10 strikeouts with four walks. She allowed just one run on six hits in 26 batters faced.

 
BEYOND THE BOXSCORE:
 

• Tonight was the first time the Lions and the Sharks have met in program history.
   

UP NEXT
 
The Sharks will host two more non-conference doubleheaders this weekend, with Washburn on Saturday and East Stroudsburg on Sunday. Both doubleheaders are slated to start at 1:00 p.m.
 
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Follow along with live updates on Twitter by following @NSU_Softball.