NSU Sharks News
NSU Softball Sweeps West Georgia
Sharks homerun drought ends
Pensacola, Fla. (Feb. 14, 2009) It was a pleasant Valentine's Day for the Nova Southeastern University softball team (10-1) after picking up a pair of wins at the UWF Regional Crossover on Saturday. The Sharks opened the doubleheader against the West Georgia Wolves (3-3) with a 13-1 win in six innings and closed out with a 6-1 win in the nightcap at the UWF Softball Complex.Lauren Lopez (Jr., Miami, Fla.) went 4-for-7 at the plate with a double, home run and four RBI to help lift the Sharks past the Wolves in a key South Region match-up. Dani Caron (Jr., Wellington, Fla.) continued a powerful start to the season without allowing an earned run improving to 4-0, while Lexi Saradet (So., Miami, Fla.) improved to 6-1 and struck out eight in the nightcap to help NSU sweep.
West Georgia won the coin toss to start the doubleheader and chose to be the home team in the first game. At first, it appeared that it may have paid off, but in the end it never mattered as Sharks routed the Wolves 13-1.
In the first game, Noemi Luciani (Jr. Miami, Fla.) reached on a single and later scored on Lopez's RBI double to give NSU a 1-0 lead. After a Shark defensive miscue in the bottom of the same inning that allowed the second batter to reach, West Georgia's Lyndsay Ellenburg doubled in the tying score.
After single Shark runs in the third and fourth innings, NSU led 3-1 heading into the fifth. But the close game soon came to an end as the floodgates opened with a four-run fifth and a six-run sixth inning for the 13-1 win in six innings.
The big blow came in the game when Dana Bergner (Jr., Palm Harbor, Fla.) doubled in a trio of runs in the fifth. The onslaught grew even worse with Sharks adding six more to the scoreboard in the sixth. Luciani and Brittany Lamb (Jr., West Palm Beach, Fla.) each singled in a pair of runs, while Lopez and Jessica Rockwell (Sr., Middleburg, Fla.) drove in single runs to help account for the scores.
Lamb and Lopez each drove in three runs for the Sharks, while Caron held the Wolves to a mere three hits and an unearned run in the win.
In the nightcap, the Sharks' homerun drought finally came to an end. After a scoreless first inning, Lopez led off the bottom of the second with a solo home run, the first of her career as a Shark. With a 1-0 lead, Bergner followed with a one out double and Rockwell reached after being hit by a Kacie Crider pitch. With runners at first and second, Jessica Hernandez (Jr., Miami, Fla.) followed with a three-run bomb and led 4-0 after two innings of play.
In the third, Bergner doubled in April Donachie (Sr., Orlando, Fla.) to give the Sharks a 5-0 lead. Donachie then took advantage of a bad throw from West Georgia first baseman Kara Pollock in the sixth to extend the NSU lead to 6-0.
The Wolves tried to stage a late comeback when Kim Weaver took advantage of a leadoff walk and a pair of wild pitches to account for West Georgia's only score. Sarradet struck out eight to pick up the win for NSU, while Crider (1-1) was saddled with the West Georgia loss.
The Sharks are slated to be back in action on Sunday, Feb. 15 at 10 am CST taking on tournament host West Florida in a doubleheader.
