LAKE WORTH, Fla. – Florida Southern College baseball (25-11, 11-6 SSC) fell to Nova Southeastern University (17-18, 7-10 SSC) after a surge of energy in the ninth, tying the series 1-1.
Florida Southern led until the last two outs of the game, in which NSU added four runs to their total to top the Mocs by one.
Throughout the course of the contest, seven Mocs had one hit each.
D'Ante Starks, Drew Cavanaugh, and
Connor Berry each batted in one run to help the Mocs' effort.
With neither team scoring in the first nor the second, the Mocs' scoring action began in the top of the third after
Jevin Relaford gained a base on balls. A single to right field by
Grady Maguire allowed Relaford to advance all the way to third. Starks followed with a single up the middle, sending Maguire to second and enabling Relaford to score.
Next up to bat, Cavanaugh had a base hit to center field, driving in Maguire and putting Starks in scoring position. Later in the inning, Cavanaugh advanced to second and Starks scored on a balk. Cavanaugh remained on base at the end of the inning.
NSU also scored a run in the bottom of the third, the Sharks' first of the afternoon.
Safferwich doubled in the top of the sixth and was able to add one more run to the Mocs' total as Berry singled to left field, bringing the score to 4-1.
After
Aric McAtee pitched seven complete innings with only one run and six hits allowed,
Andrew Williamson relieved him for one inning, which saw him strike out three batters for a quick bottom of the eighth.
Despite having a base hit, R. Riley was unable to add to the Mocs' runs in the ninth after a fly out to center field.
Justin Stewart entered the game to pitch for the Mocs, hitting NSU's Kristian Noriega with a pitch. Noriega advanced to second on a wild pitch and third on a passed ball during the same play in which NSU infielder Derek Bermudez was also hit by a pitch. During the next at-bat, Stewart walked outfielder Bryce Hazzard, loading the bases with two outs to go in the bottom of the ninth.
A pitching change by the Mocs, bringing in
Justin Wit. NSU scored two unearned runs off of Wit, followed by a double that drove in two more batters. By the end of the inning, Nova had successfully gained a 5-4 lead, enough to give them the win. The contest ended with three earned runs for Stewart and one for Wit, who was ultimately credited with the loss.
Tomorrow, the series will conclude as the Mocs and Sharks vie for the series win at Palm Beach State College in Lake Worth, Fla., in a contest set to start at 12 p.m.
