SAINT LEO, Fla. - Nova Southeastern used a seventh inning rally to take a late lead, and a dominant relief appearance from Carlos Rey, to earn the series opening victory against the Lions of Saint Leo, 4-3, on Friday evening.  

INSIDE THE MATCHUP 

RECORDS: Nova Southeastern 23-6, 7-6 SSC; Saint Leo 21-12, 8-8 SSC 

SCORE: Nova Southeastern 4, Saint Leo 3 

LOCATION: Thomas B. Southard Stadium | Saint Leo, Fla. 

GET SOCIAL: Instagram & Twitter – NSU_Baseball  

HOW IT HAPPENED 

Duncan Pastore put himself in scoring position with a double in the top half of the first inning and was brought in by an Adam Frank RBI single, giving NSU an early 1-0 lead. Daniel Rivero set the Lions down in order to open the game, inducing a pair of flyouts and a pop-out. NSU extended its lead in the top of the second inning as Stephen Schissler drove in Daniel Irisarri with a sacrifice fly.  

The Lions responded with a sacrifice fly of their own in the bottom of the third inning, cutting the Sharks lead in half. SLU tied the contest in the bottom of the fourth inning with a solo home run. The game remained tied until the top of the seventh inning, when the Sharks plated two runs on a pair of RBI doubles from Alejandro Macario and Pastore, giving NSU a 4-2 lead.  

Rey entered the game in the bottom of the sixth inning and continued his stretch of dominance out of the bullpen. The southpaw threw three shutout innings, striking out five and maintaining the Sharks advantage. 

Michael Dillon entered the game with one out and a runner on third base in the bottom of the ninth, with NSU clinging to a 3-1 advantage. Dillon secured the save and the series opening victory for NSU, 4-3 over the Lions.  

UPCOMING 

NSU will continue its Sunshine State Conference series against Saint Leo on Saturday afternoon, with a doubleheader beginning at 1 p.m.