LAKELAND, Fla. – Not even two weather delays could slow Nova Southeastern's high-powered offensive attack Friday. In fact, the stoppage may have been just what the Sharks needed as head coach
Greg Brown's club returned from the first break in action with a five-run seventh inning to take command on their way to an eventual 12-7 win over Montevallo. Back-to-back home runs by
Andrew Liberty and
Jake Anchia put Nova Southeastern ahead 7-4 in the sixth before the Sharks batted around an inning later to key the much-needed victory in their NCAA South Regional opener. The Sharks pounded out 16 hits in the effort, including three apiece by
Nathan Chevalier and Liberty, setting up an intriguing matchup with top-seeded Florida Southern.
INSIDE THE MATCHUP:
Score: Nova Southeastern 12, Montevallo 7
Records: Nova Southeastern (35-14), Montevallo (35-18)
Location: Henley Field | Lakeland, Fla.
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HOW IT HAPPENED:
Nova Southeastern grabbed the early momentum in the bottom of the second inning when Chevalier beat out an infield tapper towards the mound that plated
Samuel Duran before an ensuing errant throw also allowed
Dominic Diana to score all the way from first on the play.
The 2-0 margin soon doubled in the fourth on back-to-back, run-scoring knocks by
Dylan Harris and
Nick Gallo. The Falcons would erase the shutout in the top of the fifth, though, and force a one-run ball game after scoring all three runs with two outs.
Both sides traded runs in consecutive half innings to set up a 5-4 contest heading into the home half of the sixth. That would quickly change, however, as Liberty and Anchia took All-South Region starter Alex Pondick deep in consecutive at-bats to give the Sharks a bit more breathing room.
Although there were no signs of rain, lightning forced the ball game to be delayed for roughly an hour in the bottom of the seventh. Whatever was said during that stoppage apparently rejuvenated the Nova Southeastern lineup. After a
Jeffrey Cyr walk loaded the bases with one out, the Sharks ripped off four more hits to go along with a
Jake Anchia sacrifice fly to break open a 12-4 cushion.
A Montevallo three-run homer in the eighth narrowed the gap to 12-7, yet
Kyle Kilbourne silenced the Falcon bats the rest of the way with a nearly-flawless, five-out effort out of the bullpen to seal the win.
STATS OF THE NIGHT:
- Friday's ball game marked the 15th consecutive game in which the Sharks have recorded at least one home run.
- Just how impressive was Nova Southeastern's offensive display? All nine players in the batting order scored at least one run, eight of the nine finished with two or more hits, and five tallied multiple RBI.
- With his seventh-inning single, Harris set the new program-record for most hits in a single season with 90.
- Joe Strzelecki allowed three earned runs in 4.2 innings, while striking out five in his first start of the season.
UP NEXT:
NSU will face a quick turnaround and play host Florida Southern tomorrow morning at 10 a.m. ET. For complete coverage of the action, follow the Sharks on Twitter @NSU_Baseball or visit the
schedule page on NSUSharks.com.
