LAKELAND, Fla. — Florida Southern College baseball (25-20, 14-12 SSC) faced a tough doubleheader against Nova Southeastern University (28-19, 15-12 SSC) on Friday at Henley Field, suffering defeats with final scores of 6–3 in the first game and 16–10 in the second.
In Game 1, Florida Southern fell to NSU despite a strong effort from
Ryan Jenkins, who hit a home run in the sixth inning. The Sharks took an early lead, scoring three runs in the first inning. Anthony Stinson doubled to left center and advanced to third on a fielding error. Emilio Gonzalez tripled to center field, bringing home two runs, followed by Dakota Jones grounding out for an RBI, putting NSU ahead 3–0 after one inning.
Florida Southern responded in the fourth inning.
Carson Brady singled to left field, followed by
Brock Budacki's single to third base.
Will Burke doubled to center field, allowing Brady to score, and
Cory Filley contributed a sacrifice fly to bring Budacki home, narrowing the score to 4–2 after NSU added a run in the top half of the inning.
The Sharks extended their lead in the fifth with a double from Sebastian Garavito who later scored on a fielder's choice, making it 5–2. Both teams added runs in the sixth; NSU scored on a single by Nick Rodriguez, while Budacki countered for FSC with a solo home run to left field, resulting in a final score of 6–3.
In Game 2, Florida Southern's offense started strong, scoring seven runs in the first three innings. The Moccasins jumped out to an early lead in the first inning with Jenkins and
Mikey Scott each hitting singles, setting the stage for Budacki's bases-loaded walk to bring Jenkins home. Burke added a sacrifice fly to score Scott, making it 2–0.
Brady Doorey extended the lead with a solo home run in the second, increasing the advantage to 3–0.
In the third inning,
Eric Harrison Jr. and Brady both walked, setting up Burke for a two-RBI single. Filley singled, and a throwing error allowed another run to score, culminating in an RBI single from
Eli Thurmond, stretching the lead to 7–0. However, NSU responded in the fourth with a solo home run by Dakota Jones, making it 7–1.
The fifth inning saw the Sharks mount a comeback, scoring six runs, to tie the game at 7–7. Florida Southern regained the lead in the sixth when Jenkins scored on a fielding error, making it 8–7, but NSU quickly tied it again with a solo home run from Joel Cabrera.
Nova Southeastern then scored five in the seventh pushing the score to 13–8. The Sharks added two more runs in the eighth on a single by Michael Arnold, extending their lead to 15–8.
Florida Southern tried to rally in the ninth with
Adrian Davis walking and later scoring on a fielding error, and Filley advancing to third and scoring on a sacrifice fly by Doorey. However, the effort fell short as NSU secured a 16–10 win.
Looking ahead, Florida Southern will take the field at 6 p.m. ET Friday, May 8, as it travels to face Embry-Riddle University (Fla.) at Sliwa Stadium in Daytona Beach, Florida.
