Next Game:
at Embry-Riddle (Fla.)
2/28/2020 | 6:00 p.m.
MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. – The Nova Southeastern baseball team (6-8) overcame early miscues and a three-run deficit to gut out an 11-7 road victory at the NAIA’s No. 2 team, St. Thomas (10-3). The entire offense lifted by a game-changing seventh-inning Ray Sanchez grand slam, the Sharks rallied late to avenge a one-run loss to the Bobcats during opening weekend – in spite of five errors in tonight’s non-conference tilt at Paul Demie Mainieri Field.
INSIDE THE MATCHUP:
Final Score: Nova Southeastern – 11, St. Thomas – 7
Records: Nova Southeastern (6-8), St. Thomas (10-3)
Location: Paul Demie Mainieri Field, Miami Gardens, Fla.
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HOW IT HAPPENED:
Unlike the low-scoring first go-around with the Bobcats in which the Sharks didn’t get anything going until the third, Duncan Pastore got the Sharks in gear from the opening batter, smacking a leadoff double in the first and later beating the throw on a high Adan Fernandez sacrifice fly in shallow right field.
The Bobcats had different designs on the Sharks’ early momentum, grabbing the lead on a pair of runs against Johnny Leone in his first start since the 2018 season. After Leone settled things down, STU moved out to a 4-1 advantage with a run apiece in the third and fourth off Jarrett Bond. Two of the first four STU runners scored unearned with a pair of NSU errors in the first four frames.
After Olivier Mayrand responded with a leadoff single in the fifth, a pair of walks set him in position at third, breaking for home on a dirtball wild past the STU catcher to trim the deficit down to two.
Making his first career appearance, rookie Jason Acker held the Bobcats in the sixth, making way for the Sharks’ run support to arrive in the next frame.
The Sharks continued chipping away, capitalizing on Bryce Hazzard’s seventh-inning leadoff as a hit batsman. Hazzard went on to score on a double play ball to draw the Sharks to within a single run. Following a pitching change to Perez Nichols, the Sharks coaxed out a pair of walks to load the bases, setting up a crucial at-bat for first baseman Ray Sanchez. Following an STU mound visit, Sanchez belted the next pitch into the batter’s eye for his first career grand slam and the 7-4 Sharks lead.
Again it was walks that set the table for the Sharks in the eighth, with Pastore and Nathan Chevalier aboard ahead of a would-be bases-loading Fernandez single – however, Pastore couldn’t beat the throw from left field. With runners at second and third, Andrew Labosky squared a two-run double into outer right field. Labosky went on to steal third and take home on a wild pitch bouncing into the backstop on a ball that walked Brandon Chinea for the 10-4 lead.
Although the Bobcats reclaimed a trio of runs, the Sharks added an insurance run in the ninth on Hazzard’s RBI single into center field to score Mayrand from second – leading to the 11-7 redemption victory over the Bobcats.
Tossing the sixth, J. Acker (1-0) picked up the victory in his inaugural outing with one hit allowed. Nichols (0-1) went 1.1 innings with two hits and five walks, providing four runs.
STATS OF THE GAME
- Ray Sanchez (1-for-3) landed the second grand slam of the year for NSU, his second home run as a Shark – Mayrand collected the first grand slam against No. 2 Colorado Mesa.
- All nine NSU starters collected a hit in the game.
- Pastore and Mayrand each logged two hits apiece and both scored twice – Mayrand’s first career multi-hit performance.
- Pastore notched his eighth multi-hit outing in 14 games this season – his sixth for two base knocks.
- Fernandez extends his team-high hitting streak to 11 games.
- Labosky has now reached base in all 14 games this season for NSU, making his first start at second base this season.
- Coming off back-to-back games with seven team stolen bases, the Sharks lifted four against the Bobcats.
- The Sharks pitching staff only walked three batters and tallied just six strikeouts.
- The season-high five errors was the most for a Sharks team since April 11, 2017 at Palm Beach Atlantic and the most errors ending in a win since April 11, 2015 against Florida Tech.
- The win splits the season record against STU – the teams will meet again on April 1 in Miami Gardens in the third and final meeting.
- The game marks the third straight victory for the Sharks.
FROM HEAD COACH LAZ GUTIERREZ
“Ugly win, but it’s a win. We need to improve defensively. The type and amount of errors we made tonight should have cost the game. We got lucky, but the boys battled and did not get deterred by those early mistakes. It’s really encouraging to see the resiliency of the group the last several games. We’ll make the necessary adjustments and be ready for another important SSC series this weekend.”
UP NEXT
The road swing extends into the weekend with a crucial Sunshine State Conference matchup at current league leader Embry-Riddle. The Sharks will meet the Eagles in a three-game set, starting Friday at 6:00 p.m. in Daytona Beach at Sliwa Stadium.
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