NASHVILLE – After jumping out to what seemed to be an insurmountable lead, the University of North Florida baseball team let an important win slip away on Friday in a 13-12 loss to Belmont.

 

UNF (8-6, 3-4 Atlantic Sun Conference) was able to put up 17 hits, which was its most in five games. The Ospreys did, however, leave 16 runners on base, which were runs that were much needed because of their pitching and fielding struggles.

 

The Ospreys committed a season-high five errors, which led to Belmont scoring four unearned runs. BU also lit up the base paths, recording nine stolen bases.

 

Just after the Ospreys tied it at 12 in the top of the ninth to grab the momentum, the wheels came off. Belmont's Derek Wiley drove in the winning run with an RBI double, which allowed Bryan Taylor to score. Taylor was able to get in scoring position on a throwing error by sophomore Andrew Hannon.

 

Junior Tyler Stohr picked up the loss for the Ospreys in his toughest outing of the year. He finished with five walks and one hit batsmen while allowing five runs.

 

Sophomore Preston Hale led the Ospreys at the plate by going 3-for-4 with three RBIs, two runs scored and a double. Senior Travis Martin notched four RBIs and a home run.

 

UNF struck a good note in the top of the first when senior Travis Martin ripped a double down the right field line, which allowed sophomore T.J. Thompson to cross the plate and give the Ospreys a 1-0 lead.

 

After dropping the lead briefly when Belmont scored two in the bottom of the first, UNF responded aggressively in the top of the second. Senior Andy Warren led off the inning with a big statement when he launched the ball out of the stadium for a solo home run.

 

The Ospreys kept the pressure on when they loaded the bases on senior Chad Knight's single. Hale blasted a screamer off the left field wall, which drove in freshman Ryan Lowe for an RBI single.

 

Bruins starting RHP Brian Kelley ran into control problems in the next at-bat and threw four-straight balls to Martin, which allowed Thompson to score his second run of the game. Hannon capped the scoring when his RBI groundout drove in Knight.

 

Knight added another run in the top of the third when his RBI single allowed Warren to score, who led off the inning with a base hit.

 

The Bruins put the Ospreys on pins and needles in the bottom of the fourth, however, when they cut the UNF lead to 6-5. After Warren stepped on first on a groundout by Belmont's Packy Elkins, he got Daniel Wagner caught in a rundown.

 

But Belmont's Nate Woods took off from third, and an errant throw by Thompson that was too high for Lowe allowed Woods to score. The Bruins added another run when Brandon McCall singled in Wagner.

 

Warren added another RBI to his total in the top of the sixth on a walk that allowed Hale to score and give UNF a 7-5 lead. It looked as if the Ospreys might have been able to increase the damage, but Belmont's Logan Simmons entered the game with a 2-2 count and threw a strike across the outside corner to put Lowe down on strikes.

 

The Bruins pulled to within one in the bottom of the sixth when Belmont's Carlo Testa hit an RBI single. Junior Antonio Franzese put an end to the rally in the next at-bat when he fanned Taylor on three-straight strikes.

 

Martin put another dent on the board for the Ospreys in the top of the seventh when he hammered a two-run homer to right center to give UNF a 10-6 lead. The Ospreys were able to add another run earlier in the inning on a double by Hale that allowed Thompson to score.

 

Despite falling behind further, the Bruins didn't give in. Belmont put up two runs in the bottom of the seventh to cut the UNF lead to 10-8.

Hale helped extend UNF's lead to 11-8 in the top of the eighth when he sliced an RBI single to right field that drove Lowe across the plate.

 

But in the bottom of the eighth, trouble began for the Ospreys. Belmont scored four runs off Stohr to take a 12-11 lead. Stohr had trouble finding the strike zone in the inning, walking three and hitting one batter.

 

The Ospreys will try to turn it around at 2 p.m. ET on Saturday against Belmont in the first game of a doubleheader. Both games will be shown live on ASUN.TV. Live stats will be available on UNFOspreys.com.