STATESBORO, Ga. – The University of North Florida baseball team won the first game of a doubleheader with Georgia Southern, 7-5, to claim the four-game series, but the Ospreys dropped the second game of the twin bill to the Eagles, 9-5, at J.I. Clements Stadium.
On the day, UNF was led by
Tyler Marincov. The sophomore finished the day 6-for-8 with two doubles and a team-best four RBI. Marincov had three hits in each game with a pair of RBI.
Paul Karmeris finished the day 3-for-5 with a run scored, playing only in the first game.
Joe Wielbruda was 4-for-10 on the day with a double, a triple, an RBI and a team-high three runs scored.
In the first game,
Tommy Organ earned the start. He worked 4.1innings, surrendering four runs on four hits. The lefty struck out three batters, but was hurt by three walks and a hit batter. Organ gave way to
Chandler Jagodzinski, who tossed 1.0 innings with two hits and an unearned run and a pair of walks.
Evan Stermer relieved Jagodzinski and threw 1.1 scoreless innings with a base hit and a strikeout en route to his second victory of the season.
Tyler Moore worked the final 2.1 innings of play, earning his second save of the series. Moore surrendered a hit and a walk, while striking out two.
In game two,
Nick Allbritton started the game, working 4.0 innings before being relieved. He surrendered five runs – four earned runs – on five hits with a team-best four strikeouts.
Evan Incinelli took the loss for the Ospreys. The true freshman tossed 1.1 innings, allowing just one run on two hits with a pair of walks.
Ryan McMahon saw his second action of the season, but did not record an out while issuing a walk. Stermer worked 0.2 innings with a strikeout, while freshman
Spencer Brown allowed a run on one hit in his outing.
Andrew Karmeris and
Bryan Mathews combined for an inning each to close out the game. A. Karmeris allowed two runs on four hits with a strikeout, while Mathews did not allow a run despite a base hit.
Game 1 Recap
In game one, the Ospreys were the first team to score, scoring a pair of runs in the top of the third inning. P. Karmeris recorded the first hit of the game for North Florida, singling to center field. With one out, A. Karmeris doubled down the left field line, allowing P. Karmeris to score from first. Marincov doubled to left field to score A. Karmeris and give the Ospreys a 2-0 lead.
North Florida added a run in the top of the fourth inning.
Joe Iorio drew a one-out walk to get things started for the Ospreys. He moved to second on a single by P. Karmeris. Wielbruda followed with an RBI single through the left side of the infield to score Iorio from second base and increase the UNF lead to 3-0.
UNF added an insurance run in the top of the fifth inning.
Michael Wesner led off the inning with a single through the left side of the infield. He stole his first base of the season to move into scoring position. Wesner advanced to third base on a ground out.
Drew Weeks scored Wesner from third on an RBI single through the right side, giving the visitors a 4-0 advantage.
Georgia Southern took the lead in the bottom of the fifth inning. The Eagles batted around, scoring five runs. GSU was aided by three walks, a hit batter and an UNF error. Georgia Southern also had three hits in the inning, including a triple and a double, to take the 5-4 lead.
North Florida knotted the score at 5-5 with a run in the top of the sixth. Wielbruda led off the inning with a triple to right field. With one out, Marincov doubled to left field to score Wielbruda easily from third and tie the game.
In the top of the seventh inning, the Ospreys used a run to regain the lead.
Ryan Roberson led off the inning with an infield single and advanced to second base on an error by the Eagles.
Garrick Ferguson entered the game to pinch run for Roberson. Ferguson advanced to third base on a successful sacrifice bunt by Weeks. Ferguson came around to score on an RBI single from
Alex Bacon, giving UNF a 6-5 advantage.
UNF added an insurance run in the top of the eighth. Marincov singled to up the middle with one out for the Ospreys.
Bryan Mathews entered the game to pinch hit and delievered an RBI double to right field to give UNF a two-run lead at 7-5 that the Ospreys would not relinquish.
Game 2 Recap
North Florida started early in game two, plating a run in the top of the first inning. With one out, Wielbruda singled up the middle and moved into scoring position on a wild pitch. With two outs, Marincov delivered an RBI single to right center field to plate Wielbruda and give the Ospreys and early 1-0 edge.
In the bottom of the third inning, Georgia Southern took its first lead of the afternoon. With one out, the Eagles recorded their first hit of the second game, a single to right field. The Ospreys struck out the next batter for the second out of the inning, but Scooter Williams drove a 2-0 pitch over the right field fence to put the home team in front, 2-1.
The Eagles extended their lead to 5-1 with three runs in the bottom of the fourth inning. A single started off the inning for GSU. With one out, Casey Kicklighter hit a two-run home run to push the lead to three. The next batter was hit by a pitch to continue the inning. He stole second base and advanced to third on a throwing error by UNF. With two outs, Georgia Southern scored the runner from third base with a single up the middle giving the hosts the four-run advantage.
In the top of the fifth inning, the Ospreys responded with three runs of their own. Bacon led off the inning with a walk. With two outs, Wielbruda doubled to right field to give UNF a pair of runners in scoring position. A. Karmeris followed with a two-RBI double to right center field to trim the deficit. Marincov followed with an RBI single to center field and cut the margin to 5-4.
North Florida knotted the score at 5-5 with a run in the top of the sixth inning. With one out, Weeks drew a full-count walk to start things off. Bacon was hit by a pitch to give the Ospreys a pair of base runners.
T.J. Gavlik followed with a single to load the bases. With the bases loaded and one out,
Corey Bass scored the lead runner with a sacrifice fly to deep right field to tie the game.
Georgia Southern regained the lead in the bottom of the sixth inning. With one out, the Eagles used a double to place a runner in scoring position. A fielding error by the Ospreys left the GSU with runners on the corners. Georgia Southern walked the bases loaded. After a pitching change, a second walk in the inning scored the lead runner and give Georgia Southern a 6-5 lead. A fielder's choice erased the lead runner and a strikeout ended the inning with no further damage.
The Eagles padded their lead with three runs in the bottom of the seventh inning. GSU used a leadoff single to start things off and a stolen base moved the runner into scoring position. The Eagles used a double to score the lead runner. Georgia Southern used a single to continue the inning. The Eagles used a sacrifice bunt to advance the trail runner to second and plate the lead runner. The Ospreys used a groundout for the second out of the inning, but a double to left center field scored a run. An infield single continued the inning, but a strikeout ended the inning with the Ospreys trailing 9-5.
The Ospreys were unable to score any runs in the final inning, dropping the four-run decision.
North Florida returns to action on Tuesday, March 6, as the Ospreys head to Tallahassee, Fla. to take on Florida A&M in a midweek game starting at 6:00 p.m.
