May 21, 2005
Box Score | Photo Gallery l South Atlantic Regional Homepage
JACKSONVILE, Fla. - Throughout the eight years that the University of North Florida has been in the Peach Belt Conference, one constant in the league has been the rivalry between UNF and Kennesaw State on the baseball field.
It was only appropriate that the two teams met in the championship game of the South Atlantic Regional on Saturday afternoon at Harmon Stadium in their final season competing in the conference and on the NCAA Division II level.
The two teams dueled to the wire, with UNF hanging on for a 6-5 victory to advance to the Division II World Series in Montgomery, Ala. That victory came after UNF forced the deciding game by upending the Owls 8-3 earlier in the afternoon.
"Dixon and Amason said they could go and the guys swung the bat," UNF head coach Dusty Rhodes. "They deserve to go to the World Series. This gives us one more shot in D-II. Kennesaw has a great team. Can't say enough. We will see them again next year in D-I."
North Florida will take on the winner of the Northeast Regional, Southern Connecticut State, on Sunday, May 29, with a time to be determined.
UNF pitcher Ryan Amason held off a hard-charging Kennesaw State offense that scored two runs in the second inning to go along with single runs in the fifth, seventh and eighth, earning the save. Amason worked four innings of relief after pitching 5.1 innings on Friday in UNF's loss to Kennesaw State.
That defeat knocked the Ospreys into the loser's bracket of the tournament, forcing UNF to work its way back to the championship round with a win against USC Aiken on Friday night, followed by their victory against Kennesaw State in the first game on Saturday that forced the deciding game.
Tournament MVP Jacob Dixon took the ball in UNF's finale on only one day of rest. His offense gave him a 5-0 lead in the top of the second inning, capped by a Brennan Grogan home run to right field.
Kennesaw came back to score two in the bottom of the second on RBI singles by Matt Nelson and Derrick Tucker before scoring another run in the fifth.
UNF (45-15) answered with a run in the sixth on a Judd Loveland single that brought home Matt Oxendine with the eventual game-winning run.
Amason took over from there, giving up runs in the seventh and eighth before working a perfect ninth inning. He struck out left fielder Adrian Colton - who had already collected two hits and driven home two runs - to end the game.
Scott Hendrix led the Owls at the plate with a 3-for-5 afternoon.
Kennesaw State's season ends with a 37-22 mark.
Grogan, Sadry Café, Matt Oxendine, Judd Loveland and Mike Fryrear each had two hits for an Osprey offense that slugged out 13 hits.
UNF's 2005 trip to the Division II College World Series will be the team's third. The Ospreys also advanced to Montgomery in 2000 and 2001, finishing third both times.
Postgame Quotes
UNF first baseman Marion Knowles:
"It feels great. We played 38 innings in the last two days. We were seeing the ball well and hitting well. You have to have pitching to win, and we did. We have the heart of champions. All we had to do is put it all together."
UNF coach Dusty Rhodes:
"We had a tough 11-inning loss last night, so I asked the guys to do something that they haven't done yet. Travis [Martin] has gone through two arm surgeries. We have been careful with him. He had good control and did a great job. Dixon and Amason said they could go and the guys swung the bat. They deserve to go to the World Series. This gives us one more shot in D-II. Kennesaw has a great team. Can't say enough. We will see them again next year in D-I. We knew they were thin on pitchers and we battled the whole way thru."
UNF pitcher Ryan Amason:
"We were low on pitchers, so I told coach that I could go if the team needed me. I got into a grove, the curve was good and I was able to keep them off balance. Being in the position with a 6-5 score in the ninth is something that you dream about. I knew what I had to do, and we got it done."
Kennesaw coach Mike Sansing:
"It was a great game. They scored five in the second inning that put us in a big hole that we couldn't overcome."
2005 South Atlantic Regional All-Tournament Team
Catcher - Robert Davis (USC Aiken)
1B - Marion Knowles (UNF)
2B - Mike Fryrear (UNF)
3B - Scott Hendrix (KSU)
SS - Ryan Perry (KSU)
CF - Sadry Café (UNF)
OF - Adrian Colton (KSU)
OF - Zach Cooper (USC Aiken)
DH - Ryan Apple (KSU)
P - Jacob Dixon (UNF)
P - Travis Martin (UNF)
Most Outstanding Player - Jacob Dixon (UNF)
