March 11, 2007

Box Score

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - The University of North Florida baseball team got back on the winning track on Sunday afternoon with a thrilling 3-2 win over UNC Greensboro at Harmon Stadium in the 2007 Kennel Club Classic.

Freshman LHP John Atteo (1-2) was finally able to notch his first win of the season after throwing so many solid games with nothing in the win column to show for it. Atteo pitched six innings and allowed just one earned run on six hits while striking out three.

Junior third baseman Mike Smith's sacrifice fly in the bottom of the sixth that drove in junior designated hitter Travis Martin allowed the Ospreys to take the lead for good. Senior right fielder Jon Dandridge finished 3-for-4 and hit the game-tying RBI single in the same inning.

UNF (8-11) didn't have an easy time putting away the Spartans after taking a 3-1 lead into the top of the eighth, and the fielding of the Ospreys put their lead in jeopardy, as they committed two errors in the inning. UNCG's Guy Welsh reached on a throwing error by junior shortstop Chad Knight and ended up scoring on a throwing error by Smith.

But sophomore Tyler Stohr came in and closed the door on the Spartans, as he didn't allow any hits and struck out one to pick up his third save of the season. Redshirt freshman Jonathan Turner also had a solid game in setup relief, throwing 1.2 innings and allowing an unearned run on two hits.

UNCG (7-7) was the first to get on the scoreboard in the top of the fourth with Scott Schneider's RBI single. But Atteo quickly ended any big inning aspirations of the Spartans, getting Joel Johnson to ground into a double play.

After UNF took the lead in the sixth, Knight hit what proved to be a much-needed RBI single that drove in freshman Ryan Lowe to give the Ospreys a 3-1 lead going into the top of the eighth. Lowe, who along with freshman Michael Gropper made his collegiate debut at catcher, led off the inning with his first career single.

The Ospreys snapped a two-game skid and improved their record to 6-2 at the Kennel Club Classic. They have now won six out of their last eight games.

UNF will close out the tournament with two games against Indiana on Tuesday and Wednesday, both of which are scheduled for 7 p.m. starts. Live stats and audio will be available on UNFOspreys.com.