Box Score (PDF)JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The North Florida baseball team improved to 3-1 on the year after defeating Savannah State, 7-4 at Harmon Stadium. The Ospreys broke through with five runs in the eighth inning after being down as many as three runs early in the game.
With two outs and the bases loaded in the bottom of the eighth inning, senior
Corbin Olmstead deposited a two-RBI single into left field to tie the game at four. The next batter,
Keith Skinner, roped a single into right field that allowed
Kyle Brooks to score from second base for the go-ahead run. The Ospreys tacked on two more runs on a Savannah State fielding error to cap a five-run, game-winning rally.
Olmstead came on in relief in the top of the ninth to record the game's final two outs and earned his second save of the season. He is now school's D-1 era (2006-present) leader with 17 career saves. Junior
Austin Howze was credited with victory after recording just two outs, the last in the eighth inning and the first in the ninth.
Junior
Alex Merritt had his second-straight, three-hit day going 3-for-4 with a run scored. Senior
Dakota Higdon also continued to wreak havoc at the bottom of the Osprey lineup. The left-fielder scored three times in today's contest and was 1-for-2 with two walks.
At the top of the lineup, Brooks had his second three-hit night of the season and ups his average to .467 (7-for-15) on the year. He pulled the Ospreys within a run in the bottom half of the seventh with his team-leading fifth RBI of the season. He leads the team with six runs scored and has crossed the plate in all four games this season.
The Ospreys jumped out to the initial lead in the contest in the bottom of the third inning when
Keith Skinner singled home Higdon to break a scoreless tie. The Tigers responded in the top half of the fourth with three runs on five hits, spelling the end of Osprey starting pitcher
Zach Drury's day.
Sophomore
Adam Polansky made his first appearance of the year and ended the Savannah State threat in the third. He went on to pitch 2.2 innings and allowed one run on three hits. Polansky was charged with the Tigers fourth and final run when Elder Mendez ripped a two-out, single through the left side that scored Brian Miller off Osprey reliever
Matthew Naylor.
The two teams endured a 58-minute weather delay after the first out of the game was recorded in the top of the first inning.
It marked the second straight game the Ospreys put a crooked number up in the late innings. In four games, 17 of the Ospreys 25 runs have come in the sixth inning or later. On the flip side, the Ospreys bullpen has only allowed three runs in the sixth inning or later.
The Ospreys improve to 8-2 all-time against Savannah State and the Tigers remain winless at Harmon Stadium in seven tries. The two teams will square off one more time in 2016, an April 20 matchup in Savannah, Ga.
North Florida will hit the road for the first time in 2016 on Wednesday when they take on UCF in Orlando. First pitch is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. at Jay Bergmann Field.
