Box Score
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Just when it looked like there wasn’t anything left in the tank, the University of North Florida baseball team pulled together for a 4-3 extra inning win over South Florida on Wednesday night at Harmon Stadium.
In the bottom of the 10th, things got wild for USF, and the Ospreys (13-10) took full advantage of it. Senior T.J. Gaudy led off the inning with a single and later made it to third on a wild pitch from the Bulls’ closer Shawn Sanford.
After a heartbreaking strikeout by sophomore Ryan Lowe, Sanford’s first pitch to sophomore T.J. Thompson was wild and outside, allowing Gaudy to race home and score the winning run.
It looked like UNF was all but done after the Bulls scored a run in the top of the eighth to take a 3-2 lead, but the Ospreys had a different idea in the bottom of the ninth. Thompson reached base on a one-out double to begin the rally. After senior Chad Knight walked, sophomore Preston Hale beat out a high chopper to third base to load the bases.
Thompson scored the tying run in the next at-bat when senior Travis Martin got the job done with an RBI groundout to second. Thompson ended his night 2-for-4 with two runs scored.
Junior RHP Ty Pryor, a former Bull, had a stellar first appearance as a reliever, picking up the win after 2.2 hitless innings. He also struck out three. Redshirt freshman RHP George Lott got the start after sitting out the majority of last season with an elbow injury. Lott was solid in his 2008 debut, throwing 2.0 innings of scoreless ball and allowing just one hit.
Gaudy finished the game 2-for-5 with a double and two runs scored. Sophomore Michael Gropper had an RBI single up the middle in the first inning to give UNF a 1-0 lead and finished 1-for-3. Freshman Michael R. Smith tallied two doubles.
The win extended UNF’s win streak to three games and gave the Ospreys its first extra inning victory this season. UNF improved to 5-3 over in-state opponents this year.
The Ospreys will step back into conference play this weekend with a three-game series at East Tennessee State. The series will begin at 7 p.m. on Friday and conclude at 1 p.m. on Saturday with a doubleheader. Live audio and stats will be available on UNFOspreys.com.