Sharks score eight runs over first two innings and withstand
late Ravens rally
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla.
(March 21, 2007) - Nova Southeastern University, ranked
7th in this week's National Collegiate Baseball Writers
Association (NCBWA) Division II poll and 15th in the
Collegiate Baseball magazine rankings, scored eight runs
over the first two innings and withstood a rally down the stretch
by Franklin Pierce, ranked 10th in the NCBWA poll and
12th in the Collegiate Baseball rankings, at
the NSU Baseball Complex tonight.
Nova Southeastern scored eight of
its ten runs in its first two at bats to open an 8-0 lead, but
Franklin Pierce closed within three runs on two occasions before
the Sharks closed the door. Sophomore right-hander Raymon
Garcia (Sunrise, Fla.) improved to 4-0 on the mound,
allowing six runs, five earned, on six hits with eight strikeouts
and three walks in 7.1 innings. Relivers Nick Carris
(Orlando, Fla.) and Shawn Langlois (West Palm
Beach, Fla.) held Franklin Pierce to just a pair of walks
in a combined 1.2 innings of no-hit shutout relief to thwart the
Ravens comeback.
Langlois, who started at shortstop
before pitching the ninth, led the NSU offensive attack, going
3-for-4 with a double, three stolen bases (including his
30th of the season) and three runs scored. Senior
Chris Reynolds (Pembroke Pines, Fla.) was 2-3 with
three runs scored, while sophomore Pete Simon (Lake Worth,
Fla.) hit 2-5 with an RBI. Sophomore Rhys Roberts
(Parkland, Fla.) and junior Jimmy Sposa (Coconut
Creek, Fla.) added three and two RBI,
respectively.
Five Franklin Pierce batters
notched multi-hit games for the Ravens, who out-hit Nova
Southeastern, 13-11, on the night. Junior Kevin Renaud
(Southbridge, Mass./Southbridge), a transfer from Becker
College, continues to swing a hot bat, finishing 2-for-4 with a
pair of doubles and two RBI. Twin brother Keith Renaud
(Southbridge, Mass./Southbridge), also a Becker transfer,
was 2-4 with two runs scored, while junior Matt Anderson
(Medford, Mass./Medford) hit 2-5 with a stolen base.
Seniors Jake Christman (Newton, Mass./Newton
South) and Cory Shepherd (Worcester,
Mass./Burncoat) both batted 2-4, with Christman scoring a
run and Shepherd adding a double and RBI.
Sophomore Tom Cote
(Swanzey, N.H./Monadnock Regional), a transfer from
Massachusetts, suffered his first loss for the Ravens (2-1) as he
was touched for eight earned runs on seven hits with two walks and
a strikeout in 1.2 innings. The earned runs were the first against
Cote this season as he had entered the game without yielding an
earned run over his first 14.1 innings of work.
Sophomore Mike Adams
(Orchard Park, N.Y./Orchard Park) entered in the second
and gave Franklin Pierce a chance at the comeback, holding NSU to
an earned run on three hits with two strikeouts and two walks over
the next 5.1 innings before being lifted after the game was halted
for 66 minutes in the top of the eighth because of rain.
The first four Nova Southeastern
batters reached base as the Sharks scored six times in their first
at bat. Junior Matt Mindick (Boynton Beach, Fla.)
starting things with an RBI single, before Sposa delivered a
two-run double and Roberts capped it with a three-run home run. The
Sharks added two more in the second to chase Cote as Langlois
doubled and later scored on a double play before Simon notched an
RBI single up the
middle.
Franklin Pierce got back in the
game with two in the third and three more in the fourth. Senior
Vinny Pennell (Spencer, Mass./David Prouty) and
Keith Renaud led off the third with singles before Kevin Renaud's
first double of the night brought in the first run of the game.
Freshman Kevin Rivers (Bristol, Connl./Bristol
Eastern) added an RBI single through the left side. In the
fourth, sophomore Cliff Hicks (Merrimack,
N.H./Merrimack) drew a leadoff walk and later scored when
Pennell reached on a fielder's choice. Kevin Renaud's second double
home Keith Renaud (single).
NSU got a run back in the home half
of the fourth with an RBI single from junior Bryan Cook
(Rockledge, Fla.). Neither team scored until the eighth
when Christman singled up the middle with one out and scored on a
double from Shepherd down the line in left. Play ended there with
the 66-minute rain delay and when the game resumed, the Ravens
proceeded to load the bases after Carris struck out the first
batter he faced with a walk and hit batter. However, Anderson was
called out for batter's interference to end the inning.
The Sharks got that run right back
in the bottom of the eighth as Langlois drew a lead off walk and
came around to score with thanks to a pair of errors on failed
pickoff attempts sandwiched around an single from Reynolds. Rivers
drew a leadoff walk off Langlois in the top of the ninth, but the
senior reliever settled down to retire the next three Franklin
Pierce batters in order.
Franklin Pierce (13-3, 0-0 NE-10)
closes out its spring break trip tomorrow night when it faces Palm
Beach Atlantic University, at Palm Beach Gardens High School, at 6
p.m. Nova Southeastern (25-4, 2-1 SSC) opens a three-game Sunshine
State Conference series with No. 7/12 Florida Southern College on
Friday here at the NSU Baseball Complex at 6
p.m.
Boxscore
& Play-by-Play
