GAME ONE BOX | GAME TWO BOX
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – It took the majority of the day Sunday, but the Nova Southeastern softball team (32-20, 12-8 SSC) and Florida Southern (34-15, 11-9 SSC) played a pair of games, splitting the doubleheader. The Mocs won the first game, 1-0, a resumed game from Friday’s rain out that went 10 innings, while the Sharks took a five-inning victory in game two, 9-1, after a four-hour delay to dry the field that followed a heavy rain shower.
Sara DeMuth (Sr., Plant City, Fla.) picked up win No. 25 this season to move into a tie for the most wins in a single season in NSU history.
Game One Recap
It took a total of 10 innings and three days to get through the stormy weather, but game one between the Sharks and Mocs came to a conclusion early Sunday afternoon with FSC topping NSU, 1-0.
The game resumed in the bottom of the second inning after being halted Friday night due to weather and postponed again on Saturday. Neither team had much success offensively early on, as the starting pitchers, NSU’s DeMuth and FSC’s Christine Clark kept base runners to a minimum.
The Sharks best chance came in the sixth inning, as
Jaimee Vega (Jr., Loxhatchee, Fla.) led off with the single and then made it to third after a sacrifice and stolen base. The Mocs though, would get the next three batters out, stranding Vega at third.
The Mocs first legitimate scoring chance came in the bottom of the ninth, as Brittany Martin singled and then moved over to third after a sacrifice and passed ball. The Sharks would get out of the inning unscathed with DeMuth striking out a pair to end the inning.
The tie would come to an end in the top of the 10th, with Randi Grimes singling up the middle to score Karlyn Scott and putting the Mocs ahead 1-0. It would be all the scoring needed, as FSC was able to get the first three batters in the bottom of the inning to win the game.
DeMuth finished the game with seven strikeouts, while
Lorena Spaulding (Fr., Pembroke Pines, Fla.),
Gina Bondarenko (So., Pembroke Pines, Fla.) and Vega had the only hits for NSU. After a slow start, FSC finished the game with nine hits.
Game Two Recap
DeMuth tied the single-season record for wins in a season, picking up her 25th victory of the season after a four-hour weather delay, as the Sharks downed the Mocs, 9-1, in five innings to wrap up play Sunday.
After accumulating only three hits the entire first game, NSU amassed that total in the first inning of game two, leading to a 3-0 lead on the scoreboard. Spaulding and
Katie Kelton (Sr., Pembroke Pines, Fla.) opened the bottom half of the first inning with back-to-back singles, bringing power-hitter
Laura Saladrigas (Jr., Hollywood, Fla.) to the plate. Saladrigas slammed the first pitch she saw to the wall in right field and as she raced around the bases for a triple Spaulding and Kelton scored. Saladrigas would come in to score two batters later on a wild pitch to give NSU an early three-run cushion.
The hot hitting continued into the second inning where the Sharks posted an additional four runs to improve their lead to 7-0. Saladrigas again provided two RBI, this time in the form of a double to left center, plating Spaulding and Vega who were on first and second base, respectively.
A Mocs’ pitching change did little to stop the Sharks momentum, as Gina Bondarenko knocked a double down the right field line to bring home Saladrigas.
Melanie Spicola (Fr., Umatilla, Fla.) provided the fourth run of the inning for NSU with a hard single right back up the middle to score Bondarenko.
The Sharks would add a run in both the third and fourth to go up 9-0 heading into the fifth. Kelton garnered credit for the RBI in the third on a squeeze bunt play in which Vega slid under the tag attempt at home. With two outs in the fourth inning,
Raven Sepulveda (Fr., Tampa, Fla.) roped a double to left field that allowed Chelsea Emery (Jr., Eustis, Fla.) to race around from first and score.
FSC would break up the shutout with a run in the fifth, but it would be the only tally for the Mocs, as the Sharks sealed a 9-1 win to end the doubleheader late Sunday afternoon.
Saladrigas finished 2-for-3 with four RBI and two runs scored, while Spicola and Spaulding each recorded two hits.
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