JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - The University of North Florida baseball team had all cylinders running on high at the plate in a wild 17-10 win over Stetson on Saturday at Harmon Stadium.
UNF (23-17, 13-10 Atlantic Sun Conference) recorded a season-high 23 hits and tied its season-high in runs scored. Senior T.J. Gaudy blasted two home runs and snagged two highlight-reel catches in center field. Every starter in the UNF lineup recorded at least one hit, while both teams combined for 41 hits.
The teams traded blows in a game that had four lead changes and three ties. Stetson (15-24, 6-14) was the first to get on the board with three runs in the top of the first. The Ospreys answered in the bottom of the inning when sophomore Preston Hale's single to left field sent sophomore T.J. Thompson in to score. Sophomore Andrew Hannon followed it up with an RBI single to right that allowed Hale to score.
The Ospreys posted their first lead of the game in the bottom of the second when they put up two more runs after an RBI sacrifice fly by senior Chad Knight and an RBI double by Hale. Gaudy gave UNF a 6-4 lead in the bottom of the fourth on his two-run jack to right field that drove in senior Andy Warren.
Stetson took a 9-7 lead in the top of the sixth when Justin Bass hit a two-run home run off junior RHP John Frawley. But the lead didn't last long. UNF's bats erupted in the bottom of the inning for five runs, giving the lead for good. An RBI double by Hannon down the right field line knotted the game, and Warren gave the Ospreys the lead in the next at- bat with an RBI single. Gaudy hit another two-run blast to cap the scoring and give UNF a 12-9 lead.
The lead was more than enough for RHP Tucker Pryor, who shored up an inconsistent pitching performance by the Ospreys. Pryor closed out the final 4.0 innings and allowed just one run on two hits while striking out one to record his fourth win of the season.
Even though UNF had a three-run lead, the team was clever enough to add five more runs in the seventh and eighth with the way the game had been going. Knight scored in the bottom of the seventh when Martin singled to left and Hatters' left fielder Frank Florio bobbled the ball to allow Knight enough time to cross the plate. Warren was able to tack on another run when his RBI single allowed Hale to score.
Knight added another run in the bottom of the eighth on a sacrifice fly that brought sophomore Ryan Lowe in to score. Martin put the finishing touch on the game when he ended the UNF scoring with a two-run round-tripper that also scored Thompson. In all, the teams combined for seven home runs.
Hannon notched a career-high four hits, while Gaudy had a career-best four RBIs. The Ospreys have now won five of their last six, including four-straight A-Sun games.
UNF will go for its first sweep of the season at 1 p.m. on Sunday when it wraps up its three-game series with Stetson at Harmon Stadium. The game will be broadcast live on WBOB-AM 1320 in Jacksonville and will be aired on ASUN.TV.
