Box Score FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – The Felician University baseball team opened the 23rd season in program history on Friday evening. The Golden Falcons were defeated by host Nova Southeastern University, 15-3, at the NSU Baseball Complex. Nova Southeastern (7-0) is ranked No. 10 in the most recent NCAA Division II national writers' poll.
Felician senior catcher Shawn Vazquez (Millville, N.J.) went 3 for 4 with a double, home run, and two runs batted in. Senior shortstop Jake Stoller (Merion Station, Pa.) had an RBI double. Junior second baseman Alejandro Macario (Caracas, Venezuela) was 3 for 3 with a home run and three runs scored and sophomore designated hitter Duncan Pastore (Tampa, Fla.) lifted three sacrifice flies for the Sharks.
NSU scored in all eight of its offensive innings, including five multi-run frames. The Sharks reached five Golden Falcon pitchers for 16 hits, including five home runs. Sophomore pitcher Matt Kavanaugh (Coral Springs, Fla.) (2-0) was the beneficiary. The left-hander started and worked five innings for Nova, allowing one run on two hits with eight strikeouts and one walk.
After plating single runs during each of the first two innings, the Sharks broke the game open in the third off of Felician senior lefty Darwin Matos (Clifton, N.J.) (0-1). Adan Fernandez (Miramar, Fla.) hit a one-out, two-run homer, and two batters later, Gabriel Rivera (Miami, Fla.) added a solo shot for a 5-0 edge. Matos was charged with five runs (three earned) on seven hits over three innings.
The Sharks led, 6-0, when Stoller's double plated Vazquez in the sixth, but the NSU offensive continued to tack on. Daniel Irisarri (Miami, Fla.) and Jarrett Hall (Tamarac, Fla.) also hit longballs for the hosts. Vazquez's two-run shot in the ninth provided the final margin. Later in the ninth, Golden Falcon freshman designated hitter Luis De La Cruz (Jersey City, N.J.) singled through the left side for his first collegiate base hit.
The Golden Falcons and Sharks play the middle of a three-game series on Saturday at 6 p.m. in Fort Lauderdale.
