FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – The 2024 season and the Head Coach Adrian Morales-era began on Friday evening for the Nova Southeastern Sharks Baseball team. NSU hosted both the Tusculum Pioneers and Catawba Indians, starting the season with an 8-2 victory over Tusculum before dropping game two of the doubleheader 10-2.
Records: Nova Southeastern 1-1 | Catawba 1-1 | Tusculum 0-1
Scores: Nova Southeastern 8, Tusculum 2 | Nova Southeastern 2, Catawba 10
Location: NSU Baseball Complex | Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
Get Social: Instagram & X – NSU_Baseball
Game One
- Tusculum got on the scoreboard first with an RBI groundout, taking a 1-0 lead over the Sharks in the top of the second inning.
- Nova Southeastern quickly responded, tying the game courtesy of an RBI from Tyson Cooper.
- The following inning, Henry Wallen gave the Sharks their first lead of the season, driving in Zeth Rodriguez with an RBI single.
- In the bottom of the fifth inning, Rodriguez padded the NSU lead with a solo home run, his first as a Shark, extending the lead to 3-1.
- Nova Southeastern broke the game open with a four-run seventh inning.
- Boris Pena started the frame with a lead-off single, before Bryan Loriga doubled to put two runners in scoring position. Wallen and Ariel Garcia each worked a walk, bringing in Pena, and keeping the bases loaded for Justin Wachs. Wachs followed with a two-run double, pushing the lead to 6-1.
- Cooper closed the rally with a sacrifice fly, giving the Sharks a 7-1 advantage.
- Both teams added a run in the eighth inning, putting the score at 8-2.
- Jarrett Bond earned the opening day victory, throwing 3.1 innings and striking out a career-best six hitters.
Jarrett Bond: (1-0), 3.1 IP, six strikeouts, one earned run
Bryan Loriga: 4-5, two doubles, RBI
Zeth Rodriguez: 2-4, HR, two runs, RBI
Head Coach Adrian Morales – “We did not play our best baseball, but we were able to pull away late. Our pitching carried us along, as well as our timely hitting.
Game Two
- Catawba was able to put together three consecutive multi-run innings, scoring three runs in the fourth, two in the fifth and three in the sixth, taking an 8-0 lead over the Sharks.
- Catawba added another two runs in the top of the eighth inning.
- Nova Southeastern strung together a rally, plating a pair of runs in the ninth, but the push came to late in the contest, as the Sharks were defeated 10-2.
Head Coach Adrian Morales – “Playing good competition brings out the flaws in our team. I did not prepare my guys well enough. We will learn from this and get better. This isn’t who we will be. We have a lot of room to grow and we will.”
Nova Southeastern continues its season opening weekend by taking on Wingate at the NSU Baseball Complex on Saturday, February 3rd. First pitch is scheduled for 2 p.m.
