University of North Florida
USC Aiken
Ospreys cap sweep with 7-4 win
4/24/2005 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
April 24, 2005
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - Three North Florida players blasted home runs, and closer Josh Papelbon pitched out of a bases loaded jam with nobody out in the seventh inning en route to his 10th save, helping lead the third-ranked Ospreys to a 7-4 win over eighth-ranked USC Aiken on Sunday afternoon at Harmon Stadium.
The win gave UNF (36-11, 20-7 Peach Belt Conference) a three-game sweep in the weekend series and leaves them just one win away from clinching at least a share of the conference title. The Ospreys, who have won seven straight games, can win the Peach Belt title outright with two wins against Augusta State next weekend.
The loss dropped the Pacers (36-14, 13-11 PBC) out of the running for the conference crown and into fourth place in the league standings.
Matt Oxendine, Sadry Café and Marion Knowles each hit home runs for UNF, which jumped out to a 5-1 lead in the first five innings and made it stand up down the stretch. Knowles tied Kennesaw State's Kevin Gergel for the conference lead with his 13th home run of the season in the second inning.
Café followed with a two-run shot in the fifth, and Oxendine's two-run blast in the seventh put the game out of reach.
USC Aiken had clawed back into the game against UNF starter Jacob Dixon in the top of the seventh, loading the bases with nobody out. UNF reliever Brooks West came on and walked the only USC Aiken batter he faced, forcing in a run to slice the Ospreys' lead to 5-4.
From there, Papelbon came on to end the threat - inducing a ground-ball double play from Daniel Quartararo, which retired runners at home and first. Pacers catcher Robert Davis then grounded out to Papelbon to end the ending and strand runners at second and third. Papelbon pitched two perfect innings after that to take over the conference lead for saves.
Dixon (4-3) allowed two earned runs and seven hits in six-plus innings while also striking out seven. Peden Rucker (4-3) suffered the loss for USC Aiken, allowing 12 hits and seven runs in 6.2 innings.
Oxendine was 3-for-4 with two runs scored for UNF, while Knowles and Mike Fryrear were each 2-for-3. Scott Wandless was the only Pacer with multiple hits, finishing 2-for-4 with a run scored.
The Ospreys return to action next weekend at Harmon Stadium in their final Peach Belt series of the year. They will play a Saturday doubleheader that begins at 1 p.m., followed by a single game at 1 p.m. on Sunday. All three games will be carried via the World Wide Web at www.unfospreys.com.
