Box Score 1 | Box Score 2

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – The Nova Southeastern University softball team (13-15) took a pair of wins from the Albany State Gold Rams (9-15) Saturday at the AD Griffin Sports Complex. In game one, Rebecca Thornton (So., Lodi, Calif.) threw a one-hitter to lead NSU to victory, 5-0. The Sharks took the second game, 4-1.
 
GAME ONE
The Sharks carried a dominant outing from Thornton and took advantage of Golden Rams missteps to take game one. Thornton (10-6) shutout the Golden Rams to earn her 10^th victory of the season. She did not allow a hit until the sixth inning and only put on two runners. She picked up six strikeouts, tying her career-best mark, without a walk.
 
Offensively, the Sharks scored five runs on just four hits, taking advantage of the opportunities that came their way. NSU scored four of five runs in a wild first inning. The Sharks started the game off with a runner on base after a leadoff single. Pinch runner Courtney Bridge (Sr., Port Coquitlam, British Columbia) came in and stole second to enter scoring position with no outs. The senior was batted over to third, and on a wild pitch that should have been a strikeout, Bridge cruised home to take the lead.
 
Te Reo Powhiri Matautia (Jr., Auckland, New Zealand) reached base on an infield error that pushed Katrina Ammons (Sr., Jacksonville, Fla.) to third. Matautia stole second and Albany State took the bait, allowing Ammons to take home plate for the Sharks' second run. After a fly out put a second out on the board, freshman Brenisha Bannister (Plantation, Fla.) reached base on another error that scored Matautia. Finally, Bannister would score on a RBI single from Maegan Lee (Sr., Miami, Fla.), the squad's second hit.
 
Four runs would be more than enough run support for Thornton, who had her best outing of the season. She retired the first five batters in a row, and after grazing the elbow of Kayla Alexander, retired the next 12 batters in succession. Meanwhile in the fourth inning, Haley Gonzales (Fr., Boca Raton, Fla.) hit a double left field for the team's only extra base hit of the game. She would later score on Albany State's fifth error.
 
With two outs in the sixth inning, Thornton gave up a deep ball to right field that landed in the grass, breaking up her no-hitter. She followed up with a three-pitch groundout to end the side and struck out two of the three batters in the seventh to seal the shutout.
 
GAME TWO
The Sharks followed up with another strong pitching performance in a 4-1 win. Taylor Rotz (So., Pittsburgh, Pa.) (1-3) earned her first win of the season and kept Albany State scoreless for six innings. She held them to seven hits and struck out a career high eight batters. On offense, Rotz went 2-for-2 with a run and a RBI. Thornton went 2-for-3 and also recorded a run a RBI.
 
NSU took the lead early again, scoring a pair of runs in the second. Rotz led off the side by drawing a walk and was bunted into scoring position. Carly Comito (So., Boca Raton, Fla.) drove home Rotz and reached on a fielding error. She would score on Gonzales' second double of the game, this time to right center.
 
NSU posted another run an inning later. Matautia earned a leadoff single and was bunted over to second. On a 0-2 count, Thornton drove the ball through the right side for a RBI single. In the fifth, Thornton singled again and was driven home on a first-pitch double from Rotz.
 
The Sharks carried a four-run lead into the seventh and final inning and were looking to blank the Golden Rams for the fourteenth frame in a row. However the regional visitors did not go down without a fight. Albany State earned a leadoff bunt single and scored on a double from Tiffany Massey. Malea Maye followed up with a single, bringing the tying run up to the plate with one out. Rotz closed the game with back-to-back swinging punchouts.
 
Rotz's final two strikeouts brought her to eight, the best mark of any Shark since April 12 of last year, when Jennie Von Doellen struck out 10 Tampa Spartans.
 
The Sharks will return to Sunshine State Conference play on April 2 to begin a home series against Lynn at 6 p.m.