FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. - In a battle of top-five Sunshine State Conference foes, the No. 1 ranked Nova Southeastern Sharks were defeated for the first-time in the 2022 season, falling 9-3 to the fifth-ranked Spartans of Tampa from the NSU Baseball Complex on Friday evening. The loss snapped the Sharks 17-game winning streak, marking the best start in program history for NSU.  

INSIDE THE MATCHUP 

RECORDS: No. 1 Nova Southeastern 17-1, 3-1 SSC; Tampa 18-2, 4-0 SSC 

SCORE: No. 1 Nova Southeastern 3, No. 5 Tampa 9 

LOCATION: NSU Baseball Complex | Fort Lauderdale, Fla. 

GET SOCIAL: Instagram & Twitter – NSU_Baseball 

HOW IT HAPPENED 

Matt Kavanaugh got off to a terrific start in the series opener for the Sharks, retiring the first Tampa hitters he faced in the ballgame. The Sharks were able to give the southpaw an early lead, as reigning Sunshine State Conference Player of the Week Adam Frank hit his fifth home run of the season in the bottom of the third inning.  

The lead stood until the top of the fifth when Tampa tied the game at 1-1 with a sacrifice fly. Frank reclaimed the lead for Nova Southeastern with an RBI double to right center, driving in Tyler Epstein. Pastore followed with an RBI single, extending the Sharks lead to 3-1. The Spartans responded with four runs in the top of the sixth, chasing Kavanaugh from the game, as UT took a 5-3 advantage.  

Tampa tacked on four more runs in the top of the ninth inning, and the Sharks were unable to respond, dropping their first contest of the season to the fifth-ranked Spartans, 9-3.  

UPCOMING 

No. 1 NSU continues its series against the fifth-ranked Spartans on Saturday afternoon from the NSU Baseball Complex beginning at 1 p.m.