SAINT LEO, Fla. – The high-powered offense of the Nova Southeastern baseball team led the Sharks to another Sunshine State Conference series victory, lighting up the scoreboard in the opening game of Saturday’s doubleheader at Saint Leo’s Thomas B. Southard Stadium in a 13-7 victory. However, the Lions were able to limit the Sharks in the finale, falling by a 10-3 score in the nightcap to split the doubleheader.
INSIDE THE MATCHUP:
Game 1 Final Score: Nova Southeastern – 13, Saint Leo – 6
Game 2 Final Score: Saint Leo – 10, Nova Southeastern – 3
Records: Nova Southeastern (12-10, 10-10 SSC), Saint Leo (8-16, 7-15 SSC)
Location: Thomas B. Southard Stadium, Saint Leo, Fla.
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HOW IT HAPPENED:
Game 1
After the Sharks stranded a leadoff baserunner at third in the top of the first, the Lions took advantage in the bottom half thanks to three one-out baserunners in a row, starting with a full-count walk and followed by a pair of singles, then a sacrifice fly to bring in their second run of the inning.
In the second inning, however, the Sharks took control and never looked back, benefitting from some control issues by Saint Leo starter Jared Beck. Andrew Labosky and Michael Uz both led off with singles and teamed up for a well-executed double steal, then each scored on wild pitches during Alejandro Macario’s plate appearance to tie the game. Macario would end up walking and advancing to second on another wild pitch, then scoring on a two-out Tyler Epstein single to give the Sharks the lead. After a Stephen Schissler walk, both runners advanced on a balk and Epstein came across on the fourth wild pitch of the inning. Adan Fernandez drew the third walk, which signaled the end of Beck’s day after just 54 pitches in 1.2 innings, and Alex Hernandez jumped on the first pitch he saw from the new reliever but ended the 4-run inning with a long flyout to right-centerfield.
The next couple innings went quickly, with the only baserunners before the end of the fourth inning coming for the Lions in the third, when the Sharks narrowly avoided major damage twice. The first time was with two on and one out, when a deep fly ball off the bat of Paul Coumoulos went just foul. The second was just two batters later, now with the bases loaded and two outs, when Michael Uz made a great diving catch on a ball that likely would have brought all three runs in and put the Lions back in front.
Sensing the Lions were a little too close for comfort, Alex Hernandez blasted a solo home run just inside the left field foul pole in the fifth for a 5-2 lead, but the Lions got two runs back on a homer of their own in the bottom half, so the Sharks put together another rally in the next inning. Michael Uz, Adam Smith, and Alejandro Macario loaded the bases on a throwing error, single, and hit by pitch, respectively, then Daniel Irisarri singled in two and the Lions made another pitching change. Epstein drew a four-pitch walk against the fresh arm to load the bases once again, and Schissler and Fernandez were both just a few feet short of home runs, but settled for sacrifice flies, and Hernandez added the fifth run of the inning on a bloop single to center, for a much more comfortable 10-4 lead.
Daniel Rivero came on in relief of J.P. Williams to start the sixth, retiring the side on just eight pitches. He gave up a couple in the seventh, but he also rebounded from an 8th-inning leadoff double by getting a pair of strikeouts and a groundout.
The Sharks still were not done scoring, though. Uz drew a four-pitch walk, then stole second and reached third on a single by Smith, setting the table for Macario to face another new Saint Leo pitcher, who he welcomed with a triple into the right-center power alley on the second pitch. Irisarri drove him in, as well, with a double off the wall in straight-away center field for the offense’s second 13-run outburst in a row. Rivero went back out for the ninth, and despite a couple of two-out hits for another Lions run, shut the door with a strikeout to secure the rare four-inning save.
Game 2
Both teams kept it scoreless for the first two innings, before the Lions broke the tie with a two-out, two-run double in the third. They added to their lead with three runs in the next inning, chasing Brady Acker from the game in the process.
The Sharks finally broke through in the fifth, with RBI base hits by Macario and Irisarri, but Schissler struck out as the potential tying run to end the inning.
The Lions doubled their run total with a five-run sixth inning to put the game away, six consecutive batters reaching base with one out before the Sharks finally got out of it. The Sharks got one back in the seventh, when pinch-hitter Jarrett Hall doubled off the right field wall and came around to score, but it wasn’t nearly enough, with only an Eptein seventh-inning RBI to trim the remaining deficit.
STATS OF THE DAY
- The Sharks matched their season-high of 13 runs in game one, which had previously been set in Wednesday’s victory. Coincidentally, it marks the first time the Sharks scored 13 or more in back-to-back games since the last time they were at Saint Leo. In a three-game sweep from April 6-8, 2018, the Sharks won the last two games of the series by scores of 19-4 and 18-13. They also got hits from eight different players for the second game in a row, including five with multi-hit efforts.
- NSU stole six bases as a team, second only to the second game of the Barry doubleheader on April 17 for most in a game this season.
- After notching his first multi-hit game in over two weeks on Wednesday, Tyler Epstein had his second in a row. He was 2-for-3, with two runs scored, an RBI, a walk, and his eighth stolen base of the season.
- Andrew Labosky had a team-high three hits in the opener, which also represents a season-high for him. He stole a base in each game, giving him 11 on the year while maintaining his perfect success rate.
- Michael Uz matched career-bests with three runs scored (March 7, 2020 vs. Concordia) and two stolen bases (Feb. 22, 2020 vs. Barry).
- With a 2-for-5 effort and two runs scored, Adam Smith has two hits in each of his last three games and a stolen base in four straight. He has raised his batting average from a season-low .227 after play concluded on April 14 to .324 by going 7-for-15 in those last four games.
- Alejandro Macario hit his first triple as a Shark, scored a season-high three runs, and drove in two for the second consecutive game after entering Wednesday with just two total RBI for the entire season. The Venezuelan native added another on his fifth double of the season in game two.
- Daniel Irisarri entered the day with just two runs batted in, as well, but tallied four between the two games, including a career-high three in game one, and he also doubled for the second game in a row.
- J.P. Williams earned the opening-game victory with five innings of work, allowing four runs on six hits, striking out six batters and issuing just two walks. His first strikeout of the game, of Jackson Blevins to end the first inning, marked the 100th of his career with the Sharks.
- Daniel Rivero threw four innings for the second consecutive outing, earning the first save of his collegiate career, with five strikeouts, his most in a game since April 5, 2017, against St. Thomas, when he was a member of the University of Miami Hurricanes.
UP NEXT
The Sharks return to the road for their next outing, traveling to Lakeland for a single-game matchup with the Florida Southern Moccasins, scheduled for Thursday at 5:00 p.m.
For complete coverage of the action, visit the schedule page on NSUSharks.com or follow the Sharks on Instagram or Twitter @NSU_Baseball.
