LAKELAND, Fla. – The Nova Southeastern softball team picked up the series win over Florida Southern on Saturday afternoon, splitting a pair of games. In the first game, the Mocs picked up an eight-inning 3-2 victory over NSU before the Sharks came back to earn a 7-3 win in the nightcap.
With the split, NSU moves to 24-24 on the season and 12-9 in the Sunshine State Conference, while Florida Southern falls to 15-23 overall and 6-15 in the league.
GAME ONE
The Mocs were the first to reach the board in the bottom of the fifth, tallying the first run of the game on an RBI-single up the middle by Zierra Flodman.
The Sharks were able to even the score in the top of the third, as
Dakota Villella doubled to left center, scoring
Mary Acosta, who reached on an infield single. NSU grabbed its lone lead of the game in the top of the 5
th as
Dana Edmundson sent her 10
th homer of the year over the center-field fence for a 2-1 advantage.
Florida Southern responded in the bottom-half of the inning, knotting the game once more, 2-2, when Jessica Trana singled to the shortstop. This score would hold through the end of regulation, forcing extra innings.
After an unsuccessful top half of the inning for NSU, the Mocs used a walk-off RBI-single to grab a 3-2 victory and even the series, 1-1.
Acosta finished 2-for-3 with one scored run while Edmundson and Villella each were 1-for-4 with an RBI each.
After 7.2 innings in the circle,
Erica Winter (6-10) was handed the loss, allowing three runs (2 ER) with three strikeouts.
GAME TWO
Unlike the first game, the Sharks came hot out of the gates in the nightcap, tallying all seven of their runs in the first two innings. In the top of the first, back-to-back singles by Edmundson and Villella put the Sharks in scoring position before a sacrifice hit by
Lexie Storrer advanced the baserunners to second and third. A fielder's choice by
Alex Suzuki scored Edmundson for the first run of the game and one batter later,
Sydney Lageyre sent a two-RBI single to left to score both Villella and Suzuki to give NSU an early 3-0 edge.
An inning later, singles by
Samantha Gonzales and Edmundson and an FSC error allowed the Sharks to load the bases, and three consecutive walks allowed three more runs to score for a 6-0 NSU advantage. After one more out, Lageyre lined out to right center, but not before Villlella crossed the plate for the final Sharks run and a 7-0 lead.
The Mocs were able to tally one run in the bottom of the sixth before they tallied two more in the bottom of the seventh, attempting to rally, but falling short, 7-3.
Lageyre was 2-for-3 with three RBI while Edmundson was 2-for-4 with two scored runs.
Storrer improved to 18-10 on the season, earning the win after 7.0 innings of work, allowing three runs (1 ER) on nine hits.
The Sharks will finish the 2017 next weekend, hosting Lynn University for a three-game series. For live coverage, follow @NSUSharks and @NSU_Softball on Twitter.
