University of North Florida
West Florida
UNF baseball team outlasts UWF in 15, sweeps doubleheader
2/14/2005 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
GAME 1 BOX SCORE : GAME 2 BOX SCORE
PENSACOLA, Fla. (Feb. 4, 2005) - A sacrifice fly by Sadry Café scored Matt Oxendine from third base in the top of the 15th inning, and Josh Papelbon completed a masterful five-plus innings of scoreless relief in the bottom half of the inning, to help the University of North Florida escape with 5-4 win over West Florida in game one of a baseball doubleheader on Friday. The fourth-ranked Ospreys then dusted off their bats in game two, blasting the Argonauts 10-5 to sweep the two-game set at UWF's Pelican Park.
In game one, UNF led 4-1 going into the seventh but couldn't hold it, allowing a pair of unearned runs to the Argonauts in the seventh and eighth innings to set up the marathon finish.
Pabelbon (1-0) pitched 5.2 innings after entering the game in the ninth, allowing five hits and a walk while striking out five. West Florida's bullpen combined toallow only one run in 10 total innings of relief. Kyle Ramsey (0-1) suffered the loss.
"I was really proud of our guys for what they did in the first game," UNF head coach Dusty Rhodes said. "They made a few mistakes and made a few errors that could have cost us, but we made the plays when we needed to. We got great pitching from Papelbon. We overstretched him a little more than we wanted to, but he had great stuff and they weren't touching him out there. It was a nice win to open the season with."
In the bottom of the 14th, the Argonauts loaded the bases with two outs against Papelbon but couldn't push a run across, thanks to a spectacular throw to first from third baseman Grant Rogers that retired the side.
In the 15th, a sacrifice bunt attempt by UNF eventually proved to be the difference in the game, allowing Oxendine to move from first to third when the Argonauts' defense failed to cover third on the play. Café followed with his sacrifice fly to push the Ospreys ahead in a game that last more than five hours. The second game of the doubleheader didn't end until after midnight.
Jon Skorupski was 1-for-3 with a two-run home run for UNF in game one, while Brennan Grogan was 3-for-7. Oxendine, Brett Maloley and Jonathan Hodach each collected two hits for UNF. Jared Incinelli and Brooks West combined to allow just one earned run and three hits in 6.1 innings in the first game as well.
In game two, UNF unleashed an offensive barrage, pounding out 10 hits and using five West Florida errors to put the game away early. After both teams scored two runs in the first, the Ospreys put together a four-run third to take control. They added a run in the fifth, two in the sixth and one in the seventh to account for the final margin.
Skorupski was 2-for-2 with two RBIs in game two, while Marion Knowles was 1-for-2 with two RBIs and a pair of runs scored. Kyle Aylor (1-0) allowed two earned runs and five hits in four innings to earn the win. Bryan Lee (0-1) allowed six runs and seven hits in 2.2 innings to suffer the loss.
The teams will play the final game of their three-game series on Saturday at 2 p.m. The game will be carried live on the World Wide Web at www.unf.edu/sports.
