March 24, 2007
Game One Box Score
Game Two Box Score
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - After beginning the day with a rough 5-0 loss to East Tennessee State, the University of North Florida baseball team evened things out with an exciting 4-3 win over ETSU in the second game of a doubleheader on Saturday at Harmon Stadium.
Freshman T.J. Thompson blasted the game-winning single that drove in senior right fielder Jon Dandridge in the bottom of the eighth in the second game. UNF (11-17, 2-3 Atlantic Sun) began the inning down 3-2, but an RBI groundout by senior left fielder Damon Olinto helped the Ospreys tie it. Senior first baseman Jimmy Glanville, who finished the game 2-for-3 with a run scored, tallied the tying run after leading off the inning with a single and collecting a stolen base.
Redshirt freshman Mycal Jones went 1-for-2 at the plate with a run scored and an RBI. Senior starting RHP Derek Bell pitched a solid game but wasn't able to pick up the decision, as he was plagued with lackluster fielding by UNF. Bell allowed three unearned runs on four hits in seven innings while tying his career-high of eight strikeouts.
The Ospreys took a 2-1 lead in the bottom of the second when Jones hit an RBI sacrifice fly that drove in Olinto. But ETSU knotted the score in the top of the third, then took a 3-2 lead in the top of the seventh on a passed ball by senior catcher James Belyea.
Redshirt freshman Jonathan Turner improved to 3-0 after throwing 1.2 innings in relief and allowing no runs on just one hit. Sophomore Tyler Stohr picked up his fifth save of the season as he came in to strike out the final ETSU batter of the game.
The day didn't begin as planned for UNF, as it was shut out for the first time since Feb. 26, 2006, in a 1-0 loss to Western Michigan. The Ospreys struck out eight times and produced just five hits in the shutout. ETSU's Brandon Langston picked up the complete game shutout and allowed just one walk.
The only UNF hitter to collect multiple hits was Dandridge, who went 2-for-4 in game one. The Ospreys seemed to be baffled by Langston, as UNF runners only made it past second base once. ETSU got on the board with a run in the top of the second and then added two more in the top of the third. The Bucs tacked on more runs in the top of the fourth and eighth innings to settle on the final score.
Senior LHP Brad Johnson dropped to 2-4 on the season after allowing four runs on five hits with four strikeouts in seven innings. It was another case of no run support for Johnson, as the average run production is 1.25 runs per game in his losses this season.
The Ospreys will wrap up the three-game series with the Bucs at 1 p.m. tomorrow at Harmon Stadium. The game will be broadcast live on WIOJ-AM 1010. Live stats and audio will be available on UFOspreys.com.