FORT. LAUDERDALE, Fla. (Baseball) - Florida Tech (27-19, SSC 11-9) takes consecutive losses in series doubleheader against No. 18 Nova Southeastern (35-15, SSC 16-7) this afternoon at the NSU Baseball Complex. The Sharks narrowly escaped Game 1 after besting the Panthers by one run, and ran away with Game 2, 11-6. 

The Panthers squared up against NSU accumulating 26 hits for 12 runs. At the plate, Reid Neal and John Sternagel collected four hits each, while Nick Capra and Dan Spzik recorded five hits apiece. Spzik led the firepower against Nova, as the Toronto native ended his performance in the box with two doubles and a solo homer for three RBI.

The Crimson and Gray opened up the SSC series hustling hard throughout the entire nine innings of Game 1. The Sharks took control of the game in their very first at bats, as NSU posted four runs in three innings to overlap Florida Tech, 4-0.

As the fourth came around, FIT sparked up its fight when Spzik opened up the dances with a solo home run put behind the center field fence. The productive streak continued with Trent Masih, as the senior flawlessly dropped a squeeze to allow Neal to reach home safe and reduce the gap, 4-2.

In the fifth, FIT tied the game after Capra and Spzik combined to bring home two runners. However, the Sharks bumped up the margin once more in the home half by snatching two runs and putting Florida Tech behind, 6-4.

Continuing to grind, the Florida Tech offense decreased the stretch again in the sixth due to a troubled play by NSU's center fielder that allowed McKown to cross home plate. After a blank seventh innings for both dugouts, the Sharks grabbed on more in the bottom of the eight to increase the lead, 7-5.

Entering the ninth still in deficit, Capra led the Florida Tech lineup once again after he singled to left field. However, NSU managed to contain the FIT outburst and the Panthers eventually fell, 7-6.

Following a though loss, Florida Tech set the pace for Game 2 in the second inning, as Vincenzo Catanza flared a single to left field to bring Capra home. Nova answered back, and placed itself on the scoreboard with four runs to overlap the Panthers, 4-1.

With a three-run default, the Crimson and Gray quickly erased the Sharks lead in the third, where Capra and David Wilson teamed up to bat in three more runs for FIT. However, the Ft. Lauderdale based lineup left little room for a tie and picked up another run to move past Florida Tech, 5-4.

Trailing by one run, the Panthers rallied back in the fourth, as Neil brought in the tying run on a sac fly and Spzik clawed the go-ahead run after blasting his second double of the day. However, the Sharks quickly smeared the Florida Tech lead, keeping the Panthers scoreless for the remainder of the game and eventually took Game 2, 11-6.

Florida Tech will conclude the conference series against Nova Southeastern tomorrow May 8 at 6 p.m. ET. Fans can access live coverage of the event at FloridaTechSports.com.