FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – In a rescheduled and previously rained-out midweek, the No. 10 Nova Southeastern baseball team (18-7) battled through midgame showers and kept the bats hot in downing the NAIA’s No. 10 team St. Thomas (Fla.) (25-8) to notch the 300th career win for head coach Greg Brown, Wednesday at the NSU Baseball Complex.
The third coach in Sharks program history to reach the milestone, Brown joins current Director of Athletics Michael Mominey(302) and the program’s inaugural coach, Sonny Hansley (448). Brown is in his ninth season after succeeding Mominey as the Sharks’ skipper. Brown continues to hold the highest winning percentage among all NSU coaches at 68.3 percent after tonight’s win.
INSIDE THE MATCHUP:
Score: Nova Southeastern – 10, St. Thomas (Fla.) – 5
Records: Nova Southeastern (18-7), St. Thomas (25-8)
Location: NSU Baseball Complex | Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
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HOW IT HAPPENED:
The Sharks showed patience at the plate from the opening pitch from Bobcats starter Danger Guevara, drawing a pair of first-inning full count walks to set the table in the opening stanza. First baseman Garrett Wolfworth notched his sixth consecutive game with an RBI on a single through the right side that brought home Andrew Labosky for the first NSU score. Third baseman Ian Acevedo went the opposite direction two pitches later with an RBI single that plated Samuel Duran. Both getting ahead in the count while looking for the right pitch, right fielder Bryan Diaz and catcher Mike Rojas capped off the frame with RBI to push NSU ahead 4-0 early.
Back at it with a score apiece across the next two innings, Wolforth added a sacrifice fly in the second and Rojas tallied his fourth home run of the year on a third-inning shot that granted NSU a comfortable 6-0 advantage. Finishing off a four-inning scoring run, Labosky and Wolforth each parked solo home runs – going to opposite fields – left to right for an 8-0 lead.
Producing one of the best performances of the season, freshman starter Duncan Pastore(2-0) notched his second consecutive quality start and victory in as many games. The Tampa rookie tossed a season-long 6.0 innings, only allowing four hits and one earned run, as the Bobcats got to him late in the appearance, breaking the shutout during midgame showers.
However, the Sharks offense was quick to respond and take back a pair of runs in the home half of the sixth, with Acevedo chipping in a sacrifice fly and Alex Hernandez plating Wolforth on a single up the middle.
Although STU made a stronger push in the seventh, Jarret Krzyzanowski came to the mound in the eighth and settled things down with two scoreless frames to close the door on the 10-5 NSU win with just a single hit allowed.
STATS OF THE NIGHT:
- Leading the team with nine multi-RBI games, Wolforth extends his consecutive RBI game streak to six and hitting streak to seven – batting .323 on the year.
- Wolforth went 3-for-4 with three RBI and scored three times himself, coming up just a triple shy of the cycle.
- Labosky also locked in a 3-for-4 performance, with one RBI and two runs scored – batting .462 through 12 games of 2019 action.
- On an 11-game reached base streak (tied with Wolforth for team lead), Acevedo had two RBI on the night.
- The Sharks were one shy of a season high, but hit three home runs in the win.
- The win moves the overall series with the Bobcats closer to even, as NSU now trails 31-36 all-time. The Sharks snapped a two-game losing skid to STU and have won four of the last six.
UP NEXT:
The Sharks are done at home until April 2, heading out this weekend to West Palm Beach for a Sunshine State Conference series at Palm Beach Atlantic, March 22-24 at J.M. “Jake” Rubin Park. For complete coverage of the action, follow the Sharks on Twitter @NSU_Baseball or visit the schedule page on NSUSharks.com.