Feb. 4, 2006
Box Score
STATESBORO, Ga. - University of North Florida senior right hander Jacob Dixon tossed five innings, allowing two hits and two unearned runs to power the Ospreys past Georgia Southern 7-2 in the squad's Division I debut on Saturday at J.I. Clements Stadium.
The win extends UNF's streak of season-opening wins to eight dating back to the 1998 season.
"This was a historic win for us," UNF head coach Dusty Rhodes said. "The effort from the guys was really good and there were a lot of positives about the way we played today. There are some things we need to improve on, but the bottom line is we got a win."
Dixon surrendered single runs in the first and third innings and then recovered to hold the Eagles hitless over the next two innings to earn his first win of the 2006 season.
Senior third baseman Grant Rogers led the Ospreys (1-0) at the plate with a 2-for-3 performance that included two RBIs and a run scored.
Junior Brett Maloley also had a standout performance at the plate for UNF going 2-for-4 with a double, two RBIs and a run scored. Sophomore second baseman Andy Warren also drove in a pair of runs on the strength of a 2-for-3 effort.
UNF received strong pitching performances from junior Jeremy Papelbon and Josh Papelbon and senior Jared Incinelli.
Jeremy Papelbon tossed a perfect sixth and seventh inning, striking out one Georgia Southern batter, before giving way to Incinelli. Incinelli allowed one hit in one inning of work before Josh Papelbon closed out the game by holding the Eagles hitless in the ninth inning.
The Eagles (0-1) jumped out to an early lead when Chris Hollis stole home during a Greg Dowling rundown to give Georgia Southern a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning.
The Ospreys answered in their half of the second inning when Rogers drove a two-out double down the left field line. The Tallahassee, Fla., native moved to third on a sacrifice bunt by Jonathan Hodach and later came around to score on an Warren single to left field.
UNF extended its lead to three runs in the top of the third when Maloley singled to left field plating Matt Oxendine and Brooks West. Oxendine reached base on a fielder's choice, while West reached base courtesy of a Dustin Evans' walk.
Georgia Southern cut the Ospreys' lead to 4-2 in the bottom of the third when Jeremy Beckham singled and came around to score on a sacrifice fly to center field by Jeremiah Parker.
The Ospreys pushed their lead to 5-2 in the top of the fifth on back-to-back doubles by Damon Olinto and Maloley.
UNF added two more runs in the top of the eighth inning when Glanville doubled to left center field and moved to third on a sacrifice bunt by Rogers. After James Belyea drew a walk from David Cogswell, Warren singled to plate both Glanville and Belyea and give UNF a 7-2 lead and close out the scoring.
The Ospreys and the Eagles will wrap up their two-game series Sunday. The first pitch is scheduled for 1:30 p.m.
