FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. Junior Tyler Geffert (Hopedale, Mass.) went 4-for-4 with a pair of doubles, runs scored and batted in, but it was not enough as No. 6 Nova Southeastern erased an 8-0 deficit to secure an 19-10 non-conference victory this evening from Ian Besner Field.
The Jackets (1-5) picked up right where they left off last night as they grabbed a pair of tallies in the first for the 2-0 lead.
Geffert ripped an RBI double down the left field line to score freshman C.J. Boykin (Nashua, N.H.) who singled and stole second to start the frame. After Geffert stole third sophomore Garrett Demers (Cranston, R.I.) knocked him home with a two-out base-knock to left on the first pitch he saw.
AIC kept it going in the second piling on five runs as sophomore Aidan Farrell (Mansfield, Mass.) ripped an RBI single to left to score sophomore Eddie Ritch (Dobbs Ferry, N.Y.) who singled to start the inning. Then with the bases loaded senior Lucas Vallas (East Northport, N.Y.) blasted a line drive homerun off the building beyond the left field wall for the 7-0 score.
Geffert continued the onslaught early on with his second RBI hit of the day in the third this time an RBI single through the left side for the 8-0 tally.
Nova (17-3) finally got on the board with two outs in the third inning as senior Mario Urdaneta (Ocala, Fla.) blasted a long RBI double to straight away centerfield and then with the bases loaded a wild pitch made the score 8-2 after three innings of play.
NSU kept the momentum going and registered another run in the fourth on a run-producing single by senior Roche Woodard (Tampa, Fla.) for the 8-3 score.
The Sharks continued to fight their way back into the game as they plated a pair of runs in the bottom half of the fifth inning as senior Alexander Hernandez (Davie, Fla.) lifted a leadoff homerun to left field on the first pitch of the inning and then on the very next pitch junior Justin Garcia (Hialeah, Fla.) smacked a triple to centerfield and scored on a groundout for the 8-5 game.
Then in the bottom of the sixth the flood gates opened as Nova plated 13 runs (three earned) on only five hits as AIC walked seven and committed a pair of miscues for an 18-8 cushion. The inning was highlighted by and RBI double by Urdaneta and a two-run double by junior Antonio Rodriguez (Coral Gables, Fla.).
NSU added another run on a sacrifice fly in the seventh and American International plated a pair in the top of the eighth with two-outs as Geffert doubled down the left field line and scored on a single by freshman Alex LaFayette (Ludlow, Mass.) and then LaFayette crossed home on a single by freshman Nick Sanford (Newington, Conn.) for the 19-10 score.
The Jackets were outhit by the hosts 16-15 and saw four players register multiple hit efforts led by Geffert's four Boykin, Ritch and Farrell each had two apiece.
Nova was paced by Urdaneta who went 4-for-7 with a pair of doubles, two RBI's and four runs scored while three other players had multiple hits as well.
Sophomore Michael Gentile (Windsor Locks, Conn.) was erased from the decision after the eight run bottom of the sixth as he went the first five innings allowing five earned runs on eight hits with three walks and a trio of strikeouts. Junior Harrison Paige (Springfield, Mass.) was dealt the loss to fall to 0-2 on the year as he was not able to record an out and allowed five runs (two earned) on one hit with a pair of walks.
Shark freshman right-hander Gilberto Torres (Miami, Fla.) registered his first career victory after tossing two innings not surrendering a run while allowing two hits and striking out three.
AIC takes tommorrow off before returning to action on Thursday with a single non-conference tilt with Nyack at 11 a.m.
