Nova Southeastern bullpen allows two runs in 9.2 innings
MIAMI SHORES, Fla. – Overcoming a host of obstacles – namely, starting pitcher Nathan Campbell facing just two batters and the offense being shutout for the first eight innings – the Nova Southeastern Sharks baseball team found some late-inning magic, scoring three runs in the final two frames to come back and defeat the 15th-ranked Barry Buccaneers, 3-2, in 10 innings. With that effort, the Sharks earned the first Sunshine State Conference win in Head Coach Laz Gutierrez’s career and ended the Bucs’ program-record 9-0 start to the season – while also knotting the series up at one game apiece.
INSIDE THE MATCHUP:
Final Score: Nova Southeastern – 3, Barry – 2 (10 innings)
Records: Nova Southeastern (4-8, 1-1), Barry (9-1, 1-1)
Location: Feinbloom Field, Miami Shores, Fla.
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HOW IT HAPPENED:
Campbell rebounded from a wild first pitch to strike out the leadoff batter, but the wildness reared its head in a four-pitch walk. The coaches, sensing a problem, went to the bullpen immediately, bringing out Matt Ornelas, who walked his first batter, but then took a comebacker from Richie Sobalvarro and started a double play to get out of the inning.
Aside from that, the early part of the game was fairly quiet. The Sharks didn’t have a baserunner until Duncan Pastore reached on an error to lead off the fourth, and neither team had a hit until Sobalvarro started the bottom half with a single against Brady Acker, who relieved Ornelas to begin the third. He then moved to third on another single that took a high hop over the right side of infield and scored on a wild pitch that got just far enough away from catcher Olivier Mayrand.
The Sharks finally gained their first hit, an Andrew Labosky leadoff single in the fifth, but after reaching third with one out, they were unable to get him in. Nathan Chevalier was also stranded at third an inning later, and two more runners left on base in both the seventh and eighth. Pastore singled with two outs on the board in that eighth inning, with the Sharks running out of chances to tie the game. He stole second and reached third on Tyler Epstein’s single that would’ve scored him, had the Bucs’ shortstop not made a diving stop to keep it in the infield. Barry then made their first pitching change of the game, and Adan Fernandez hit it hard, but right at the second baseman, who made a leaping grab against the sun to end the inning.
Acker and Jacob Bove, meanwhile, combined to allow just two singles between the fifth and eighth innings, to keep the deficit at just the one run, which paid off in the ninth. Labosky led off with a single and moved up on Brandon Chinea’s perfectly-placed sacrifice bunt. A pickoff attempt went wide, allowing Labosky to reach third and Mayrand drew a walk. Michael Uz hit a grounder to third, just slow enough that Uz was able to beat out the throw to first for the potential game-ending double play, resulting in Labosky scoring the tying run. Uz stole both second and third, but Stephen Schissler grounded back to the pitcher to end the rally.
In the bottom half, Bove walked the leadoff batter, so the Sharks turned to fellow Sac City transfer Lucas Reid. The first batter tried to bunt the runner over, but Fernandez ran in to make a great sliding catch for the pop out, and Reid collected the second out on a swing and a miss. He worked around a two-out single to force the game into extras with a pinch-hit fly out.
The offense picked up right where they left off in the ninth, as Chevalier led off with a single then stole second and took another base on a wild pitch. Epstein grounded the ball back up the middle for the RBI single and the Sharks’ first lead of the series. He advanced on another wild pitch and a Fernandez single, then Labosky added an insurance run by beating out another possible double play ball. Chinea and Alex Hernandez walked to load the bases, but Uz flied out to center and the Sharks settled for their two-run advantage.
That insurance run proved to be crucial, as Reid hit the first batter and allowed a single to the second. They both moved up on a wild pitch, but Reid got a fly ball for the first out that was shallow enough to hold them at second and third. Matt Kavanaugh, fresh off his dominant performance on Tuesday (six strikeouts in 3.1 innings) came in to try to close it out, but he deflected a grounder off his glove from the first batter he faced, and Epstein was unable to recover. Sobalvarro, who ended the first inning with a double play, but had two hits since, came up again, and Kavanaugh and the defense were able to do what the Buccaneers could not, as he hit it to Chinea at short, who kicked off the 6-4-3 game-clinching double play.
STATS OF THE GAME
- The bullpen combined to allow just two runs on seven hits in 9.2 innings, with seven strikeouts.
- Acker led the way with five strikeouts in 4.2 innings, allowing one run on four hits.
- Reid (1-0) allowed a run on two hits in 1.1 innings but earned the victory thanks to his scoreless ninth.
- Kavanaugh picked up his first career save, allowing a hit in 0.2 innings.
- The Sharks were held without an extra-base hit for the second game in a row, but were able to win, in part, due to the pitching staff holding the Bucs without one, either, for the first time this year.
- They won twice last season without an extra-base hit: 1-0 at West Florida on Feb. 19 and a 12-8 home contest against Palm Beach Atlantic on Apr. 23.
- Epstein and Labosky both had their third multi-hit games of the season.
- The Bucs entered averaging 9.8 runs per game and hitting .350 with a .520 slugging percentage, but the five Sharks pitchers held them to just a .206 average for the game.
UP NEXT
The series finale rubber match is scheduled for Sunday at 12:00 p.m. at Feinbloom Field.
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