Box Score 1 |
Box Score 2
DAVIE â€" Erika Garcia continued her recent hot streak for Nova Southeastern and when Florida Southern had a chance to pull even late in game two, Melanie Spicola gave the Sharks the breathing room they needed. Garcia had three hits and four RBI in the doubleheader, and Spicola reached base four times out of the leadoff spot and hit a critical 3-run triple to help the Sharks defeat the Moccasins 8-0 and 8-4.
The Sharks (24-15, 11-4) struck for four runs in the bottom of the first inning, sending 10 batters to the plate even though they had only two hits in the frame. Spicola and Samira Tanaka drew walks to start the inning and a single by the #3 hitter, Garcia, drove in the first run. Cleanup hitter Katrina Ammons made it 2-0 with a sacrifice fly, and following an error and a walk, Rebecca Thornton’s ground out was enough to bring Garcia home for a 3-0 score. Maegan Lee then picked up Nova’s fourth walk of the inning to re-load the bases and an infield single by Lorena Spaulding gave the Sharks their fourth run.
Two innings later the Sharks had another 4-spot, with all of those runs scoring with two out, and Spicola and Tanaka playing a major role again. Spicola’s 2-out single loaded the bases for Tanaka, and the Nova shortstop delivered a single into right center that drove in two runs. Two more scored on a wild pitch and an error, and the Sharks had enough to win by the 8-run rule for the second game in a row.
Jennie Von Doellen pitched the shutout for Nova Southeastern, her fourth of the season to even her record at 5-5. She gave up three hits, walked one and struck out five. She also had two hit batters, both of them against senior Allasyn Lieneck (Oldsmar, Fla.).
Junior catcher Kim Booker (Bartow, Fla.) had two of FSC’s hits, leading off the second inning with a single and leading off the fourth with a double. The fourth inning represented the Mocs’ best opportunity to score off Von Doellen, with freshman pinch-runner Courtney Hogrefe (Naples, Fla.) at second for Booker with none out. Sophomore Leah Pemberton (Valrico, Fla.) was up next and ripped a pitch down the first base line that was caught in spectacular fashion by Garcia. Her throw to second was in time to double off Hogrefe and Von Doellen ended the inning with a strikeout.
The Moccasins (21-14, 7-8) nearly broke up the shutout in the fifth when Lieneck was hit leading off the inning and reached second with two out. Senior Christie Bailey (Jacksonville, Fla.), who had already singled once in the game, hit another ball hard, but Nova second baseman Dakota Villella made a diving stop to keep it from going up the middle and got the out at first to end the game.
Nova Southeastern opened game two of the doubleheader by scoring in each of the first three innings, with Garcia driving in three of the Sharks’ four runs during the early going. The senior pitcher/first baseman, who had six RBI in the 3-game series, hit a solo home run in the first inning and a 2-run double in the third. The home run was her sixth of the season, and her fourth in the last six games. In between, the Sharks used an infield single by Gina Bondarenko, a walk and an error to score once in the second, contributing to their 4-0 lead.
Florida Southern got on the board in the top of the fourth after back-to-back 2-out singles by Pemberton and senior Heather Brinkmeier (Port St. Joe, Fla.). When Brinkmeier’s hit skipped away from Spicola near the line in right field, Pemberton was able to circle the bases to bring the Mocs within 4-1.
The Moccasins further cut into the lead in the top of the sixth inning when an error put Booker on base with two out. Pemberton followed with a single, her third hit of the game, and when Brinkmeier singled into left center, freshman pinch-runner Jamie Graziani (New Castle, Pa.) scored from second.
With the margin down to two runs though, Nova Southeastern scored what proved to be four critical runs in the bottom of the sixth. A double by Bondarenko got the Sharks started, Thronton drove her in with a single that made the score 5-2, and Spicola later hit a bases-loaded triple to bring in three more runs.
Without those runs, the Moccasins would have been able to tie the game in the top of the seventh when they scored twice. Three of their first four batters in the seventh reached base, which included a single by sophomore Jordan Alexander (Valrico, Fla.) and an RBI double by junior Jessica Lanci (Orlando, Fla.). Junior Priscilla Gonzalez (Miami, Fla.) drove in another run with a ground out but that was as close the Mocs could get.
Thornton (8-4) got the win for Nova but needed help from Von Doellen in the seventh. The Moccasins had eight hits off Thornton before Von Doellen was summoned to get the final two outs. Thornton gave up only two earned runs, had one strikeout and one walk in 6.1 innings. Pemberton had three of those hits for Florida Southern, and Alexander and Brinkmeier had two apiece.
Nova Southeastern has now won 12 of its last 13 games and swept its last three Sunshine State Conference series.
Florida Southern returns home for its next series, hosting Rollins on Friday and Saturday, April 11-12. Friday’s single game begins at 7 p.m., and Saturday’s doubleheader starts at 1 p.m.
