Box Score 1 |
Box Score 2 BOX SCORE vs ACU | BOX SCORE vs GCU
TUCSON, Ariz. – The Nova Southeastern University softball team (8-3) split its day-one games at the NFCA Division II Leadoff Classic, topping the No.22 Abilene Christian Wildcats (5-5), 5-3, and then dropping the latter game to the Grand Canyon Antelope (11-2), 6-2.
Melanie Spicola (So., Umatilla, Fla.) continued with her solid hitting so far this season, going 3-for-4 with a RBI on the day.
Laura Saladrigas (Sr., Hollywood, Fla.) led the Sharks in the RBI category with two, while
Dani Millan (Jr., Ventura, Calif.) did well in her first two starts of the season, batting .250 and adding a RBI of her own.
Jennie Von Doellen (Jr., Hudson Bay, Canada) (6-2), struck out three more batters in seven innings pitched against the Wildcats.
GAME ONE AGAINST ACU
Against the Wildcats, the Sharks showed strong hitting scoring all five of their runs in the first three innings, proving to be too much for Abilene Christian to overcome.
After a quick inning for Von Doellen in the top of the first, the Sharks were able to knock in two runs of their own.
Samira Tanaka (Jr., Sao Paulo, Brazil) tallied the first run of the game, after an errant throw from the shortstop over the first basemen’s head to allow the Brazilian to score all the way from second.
Erika Garcia (Jr., Pembroke Pines, Fla.) brought in
Ashley Silveira (Sr., Miami, Fla.) off of a well hit ball into the gap in left centerfield, giving NSU an early 2-0 lead.
The Wildcats were able to get back into the game after a two-run RBI double from freshman Cara Hoover in the top of the second. The Sharks regained the lead for good in the bottom of the second when Spicola hit a ball on a rope down the left field line that made its way all the way to the fence, bringing in Tanaka for the second time in as many innings.
The bottom of the third proved to be another big inning for NSU, started by a line drive up the middle from
Chelsea Emery (Sr., Eustis, Fla.), bringing home Saladrigas easily from third. Millan recorded her first RBI of the year during the next at bat, bringing in pinch-runner
Elizabeth Spring (Fr., West Palm Beach, Fla.) to give the Sharks a commanding 5-2 lead.
The Wildcats added another run in the top of the sixth, but it wasn’t enough to prevent the Sharks from getting its eighth win of the season.
GAME TWO VS GCU
The Antelope offense forced five NSU errors, in which the Sharks could not overcome against a strong Grand Canyon team.
GCU jumped out on top early, but not before starting pitcher Garcia was forced to leave the game with an injury to her ankle. Saladrigas took over pitching duties with runners on the corners. The first run for GCU came with a bases-loaded walk. Later in the inning, a Sharks’ error brought in another Antelope player from third base.
The fourth inning ended up being the clincher for GCU, scoring three runs on two Shark errors.
NSU showed a bit of life in the fifth inning, when an Antelope error by the first basemen brought in Spring for her second run of the day. The Sharks got their final run of the game, when Saladrigas hit a blooper over the first basemen’s head into shallow right field, to bring Tanaka in for a team-high third run of the day.
Krista Colburn (So., Meade, Colo.) got the start behind the plate, recording two putouts in her first game of the season for NSU.
The Sharks will look to bounce back in day two of the tournament, when they take on Texas Women’s at 2 p.m. EST, followed by a date with New Haven at 4 p.m. EST.
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