FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – The No. 24 Nova Southeastern Sharks baseball team (11-10) edged over .500 for the first time this season on their second non-conference win of the weekend, exploding in the middle innings to defeat Concordia College (N.Y.) with huge run support for a stellar relief effort by freshman Cooper Omans in the 12-4 victory.
INSIDE THE MATCHUP:
Final Score: Nova Southeastern – 12, Concordia (N.Y.) – 4
Records: Nova Southeastern (11-10), Concordia (N.Y.) (2-9)
Location: NSU Baseball Complex, Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
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HOW IT HAPPENED:
Braving a heady wind, inbound with 20 mph gusts, the Sharks offense went right to work on the Clippers, as Adan Fernandez made up for a missed appearance on Friday with a towering first-inning solo home run to left field – putting the ball where Concordia couldn’t nab it after the Clippers made highlight-reel defensive plays to collect the first two outs of the inning.
The Sharks pitching staff was riding a 13-inning scoreless streak, but the Clippers struck in the top of the 2nd against starter Brady Acker, using a single and a Sharks error to set up Frank Coste’s RBI double down the left line. AJ Gonzalez scored on the play and Andrew Medina rounded, but Fernandez hit Brandon Chinea on the cutoff to halt the second score via catcher Olivier Mayrand.
NSU proved quick to respond to the threat. With Mayrand and Michael Uz aboard, an errant pickoff throw from Michael Romano dribbling down the right field fence gave plenty of time for Mayrand to cross home from second. Uz wasn’t far behind, scoring from third as Nathan Chevalier chipped an RBI single off the pitcher’s glove on a comebacker.
However, the Clippers refused to retreat as Joseph Impeduglia netted a third-inning, two-run single up the middle with runners moved over on an NSU error, knotting the score one final time.
With freshman sharpshooter Omans taking over pitching duties in the top of the fourth, everything began to fall in place for the Sharks. First, Omans struck out 2-of-3 batters to keep the fourth frame clear. Chevalier struck again for the Sharks in the fourth, sending a bullet doubled down the first base line to score Mayrand. Uz followed, breaking for the plate and tagging on a wild pitch, which also shifted Chevalier to third. A sacrifice fly in right field from Tyler Epstein provided Chevalier just enough cushion to score and get Duncan Pastore to second. The aggressive positioning paid off again for the fourth run of the inning, as Pastore raced home on a Fernandez RBI single laced into left field for the 7-3 advantage.
The Sharks reached the scoreboard again in the fifth on an Uz RBI single that send Ray Sanchez around third and on to the dish. A Concordia move to the bullpen for right-hander Daniel Borysowski allowed an opening with a pitch too hot to handle, giving Uz time to tag up the ninth run.
Although Borysowski kept things quiet for a pair of innings, the offense cranked back up after Concordia tacked up a run in the eighth. The Sharks found success again, this time taking shots with some reserves, as Pedro Martinez, Jr. hit a single deep in the six-hole in his first collegiate at bat, also notching his first career RBI as Epstein scored from second. Mayrand quickly made it a banner day for Martinez’ hitting debut, sending the redshirt freshman home to score on a single up the middle. Next up, pitcher Nik Sanderspushed an RBI single through the right side to score Sanchez in his first career at bat and take the score to a 12-4 NSU final advantage.
After taking over for Acker, the freshman Omans (3-0) was outstanding for the win, tossing 4.0 innings with eight strikeouts versus one walk and two hits – improving his career best from six to eight strikeouts for the NSU season best and matching Nathan Campbell’s rookie count from last year. Taking the loss for Concordia, Romano (0-3) allowed nine runs (six earned) and 12 hits in 4.2 innings of action.
STATS OF THE GAME
- The Sharks pushed their record over .500 for the first time in the 2020 season.
- NSU recorded 19 hits for a season high, garnering the most base knocks since a 12-9 victory at Eckard last April 20 – NSU has now recorded at least 12 hits in the past five games, exceeding 14 hits in four of those contests with a 4-1 record in the last five.
- NSU also recorded a season high for runs, dating back to the big-hitting date last year at Eckard.
- Season-best was a theme for Saturday, recording the most pitching strikeouts (15) in 2020 and the most since May 4, 2018 against North Greenville. The Sharks also recorded a season-low in hitting strikeouts with just a pair – the fewest since May 18, 2018 against Montevallo.
- Omans’ eight strikeouts are just an extension of a stellar three-week effort for the rookie – who has not allowed a run in 15 innings over the last three outings, and has garnered 14 strikeouts in the last 10 innings
- Uz celebrated a stalwart hitting effort in the early season, racking up a 4-for-4 performance with three runs scored and one RBI in just his second multi-hit outing.
- Nathan Chevalier was 3-for-5 with two RBI and one run in his second multi-hit and first multi-RBI date.
- Labosky, Fernandez, Sanchez and Mayrand each collected two hits apiece and 8-of-9 starters collected a hit.
- Hitting 1-for-4 with a run and an RBI, Epstein extended his team-high 15-game hit streak.
- Fernandez grew his team-best reached base streak to 20 consecutive appearances.
- Leading the NCAA in stolen bases, the Sharks grew their season total to 60 with three base thefts against Clippers.
- Ranking fourth in the NCAA in the stat, the Sharks were held without a double play for the third consecutive game – only the second-such stretch without this season.
FROM HEAD COACH LAZ GUTIERREZ
Hear from Coach @DrLaz1 about today’s Sharks win over Concordia College – Pardon our wind 😑
#PrepareToDominate We>Me🦈⚾ pic.twitter.com/HImfBNcDwJ— NSU Baseball (@NSU_Baseball) March 8, 2020
UP NEXT
A busy non-conference weekend at the NSU Baseball Complex concludes on Sunday afternoon as the Sharks host Assumption College at 1:30 p.m.
To stay up with all the latest with Sharks baseball., follow us on Twitter @NSU_Baseball, on Instagram @NSU_Baseball and on Facebook /NSUBaseball.
