DAVIE â€" After a break-through season in 2009 that ended with its first trip to the NCAA South Region Tournament, Nova Southeastern was picked to win the Sunshine State Conference this year for the first time ever. A lineup loaded with seven senior starters was a big reason why. In Tuesday’s doubleheader with Florida Southern, all seven were major players, but none were bigger than Jessica Hernandez and Dani Caron, who led the Sharks to 6-1 and 6-0 wins.
Oddly enough, Hernandez and Caron weren’t among the Nova players selected to last year’s all-conference team, but both are a good bet to make it this year. Tuesday they were at their best against the Moccasins, with Hernandez picking up two hits and two RBI in each game, and Caron pitching a shutout in game two in addition to her two hits and three RBI.
In game one, the Sharks (29-12, 7-4) were able to break a 1-1 tie after their first three batters of the fourth inning all reached base on hits. Rachel Talenfeld got the first one on a slow bouncer to second and senior Lauren Lopez followed with a single to center. Hernandez then hit another bouncer up the middle that Peggy Alex dove for, and nearly stopped; but the ball deflected off the end of her glove and rolled slowly into the outfield for a hit. By the time centerfielder Brittaney Alderman got to it, Talenfeld had scored the go-ahead run, Lopez had reached third and Hernandez was cruising into second.
Moccasin pitcher Christine Clark was able to hold Lopez and Hernandez where they were with a pair of ground balls to third, and nearly got out of the inning without giving up another run. Senior Dana Bergner prevented that from happening though with a blooper into short right field that was just out of the reach of Alex, who was racing out from her second base position. The Sharks’ fourth hit of the inning scored both Lopez and Hernandez to give them a 4-1 lead.
Nova added two more runs in the bottom of the sixth, an inning in which the Sharks had just one hit, but the Moccasins made two errors. Nova’s first five batters reached base in that inning on two errors, a walk, a fielder’s choice at the plate and a single.
The teams had traded two early runs, with Nova scoring in the bottom of the first on a two-out single by Lopez and an RBI double by Hernandez. Florida Southern (19-14, 5-6) was able to tie the game in the top of the third when Clark singled up the middle to drive in Erin Foley, a base runner the Mocs got after a Nova error had started the inning.
Clark had two of Florida Southern’s five hits, and Alex had two of the four walks they were issued. Lindsey Powell had one of each, but the Mocs, who had base runners in every inning, left nine of their 11 on base, with Nova Southeastern turning one double play. The Sharks also had 11 base runners, but got six of them across the plate.
Devin Higginbotham went the distance in the circle for Nova, improving to 7-3. Clark fell to 6-8 for Florida Southern, allowing five earned runs in five innings, striking out two and walking one.
Nova started game two by scoring once in the first inning, and once in the second. Each time, the Sharks got the leadoff runner on and immediately bunted her to second. Hernandez drove in the first run with an RBI single, and Caron knocked in the second with the first of her two doubles.
Caron’s second double came in the bottom of the fourth and scored both Laura Saladrigas and Dana Bergner, who had singled ahead of her. That too was set up by a sacrifice bunt by Brittney Lamb (another of the Nova seniors), and it gave the Sharks a 4-0 lead.
One inning later, Lopez, Hernandez and Lamb all teamed up again to give the Sharks their final two runs, with Hernandez and Lamb driving them in.
Caron then finished off her third shutout of the season and allowed just four hits in the game. She had just one strikeout, but also issued just one walk. The win gave her a record of 12-3.
Brittaney Alderman took the loss for Florida Southern, falling to 10-6. She also had one of Florida Southern’s four hits, as did Powell, Elli Howell and Heather Raulerson.
Florida Southern and Nova Southeastern conclude their 3-game series with a single game on Wednesday at 4:00 p.m.
