FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – Nova Southeastern University softball secured its first Sunshine State Conference win after defeating University of Tampa 6-5 in extra innings on Saturday afternoon. The Sharks dropped the first game of the doubleheader 2-1 earlier in the day.
 
"I think today, and this weekend as a whole, was a big step in the right direction for us as a team," said head coach Julie LeMaire. "The girls competed much better than we have been and pulled together as a team in the last game to accomplish a type of victory we have yet to see this season."

After coming back from a three-run deficit in the second game and taking the lead in the bottom of the fifth, the Sharks gave up a Spartan run in the top of the seventh. NSU was able to tie it up in the bottom of the seventh off a sacrifice fly to take the game into extra innings. The Shark defense would hold Tampa in the top of the eighth and go on to score the winning run off of a triple to left field by Dakota Villella (Jr., Hollywood, Fla.).
 
"It would have been easy for us to panic or give up after Tampa went ahead of us twice, but the girls battled and never gave up on each other," continued LeMaire.
 
Erica Winter (Fr., Blaine, Minn) picked up her second win of the season (2-5), pitching eight innings in the second game only giving up two earned runs, three walks and picking up two strikeouts. Fellow freshman Megan Granitto (Wellington, Fla.) also pitched well in the first matchup only allowing two runs and one walk in seven innings despite earning the loss (0-3). Tampa's Makaleigh Dooley saw action in both games, picking up the win in the first and the loss in the second to move her to 3-2 on the season.
 
"We saw gains out of all three of our pitchers on the mound this weekend, and I look forward to them building off of that as we continue conference play," added LeMaire.
 
Game 1
 
Tampa was off to a quick start offensively as they put up a run in the top of the first. Haley Gonzales (So., Boca Raton, Fla.) started the Shark bats off with a single in the bottom of the second but was left on base.
 
The Spartans second and final run was earned in the top of the third off of a RBI single by Dooley. NSU was able to answer in the bottom of the third off of three consecutive hits. It began with a single by Rachel Minier (Jr., Orlando, Fla.). Villella followed with a bunt single to advance Minier who would move to third off a left field shot by Katey Blummer (Naples, Fla.). Miner would come in to score as Dooley walked Gonzales.
 
The Sharks would see a double by Ashley Roe (Jr., Flower Mound, Texas) in the bottom of the seventh, but it would not be enough for them to take the win from the Spartans.
 
Game 2
 
The second game of the doubleheader began in similar fashion as game one, with Tampa putting up two runs in the top of the first. Their third would come off of two hits and Bre Setree being hit by a pitch in the top of the second to take the Spartans to 3-0.
 
The Sharks began to see success against Tampa pitcher Alyssa Bache in the bottom of the third. Villella started things off with an infield single and advanced to second on a wild pitch. Blummer then doubled to left and Dajia Jones (Jr., Jacksonville, Fla.) would drive in Villella with a single to right center. Sophia Devesa (Fr., Pembroke Pines, Fla.) who started at first base in both games, laid down a sacrifice bunt to bring around Blummer and put the Sharks within one.
 
NSU would take the lead, 4-3, in the bottom of the fifth as Tampa put in Dooley to pitch for Bache. Again Villella began the inning with a single followed by Blummer's second double of the game on which Villella would score to tie things up. Jones had a double of her own to right center, advanced to third on a Gonzales single and Devesa would pick up her second RBI to bring Jones across the plate.
 
The Spartans tied things up in the sixth and took a 5-4 lead in the top of the seventh. Determined to take one of the three games from Tampa, Blummer had her third extra base hit of the game with a triple to left in the bottom of the seventh. She was driven in by a sacrifice fly from Jones. Despite, giving up two hits in the top of the eighth, the Sharks stranded two Tampa base runners. With two outs in the bottom of the eighth, Minier singled to the left side and would score the winning run off a triple by Villella, who ended the game 3-for-4 with one RBI and two runs scored.
 
The Sharks will welcome West Liberty University to A.D. Griffin Sports Complex for a doubleheader on Sunday, March 6 with the first game beginning at 1 p.m. Links to the live stats and live video stream for both games are available HERE.