UNF victorious in epic battle

Wednesday, March 11

Jacksonville, Fla.

7 p.m.

University of North Florida

6-9

Troy

9-5

Troy

North Florida

Justin Preckajlo had five hits on Wednesday, including the game-winner.

3/12/2009 1:16:00 AM | Baseball

Box Score

Ospreys beat Troy, 10-9, in 12 innings

By: Eric Scott, UNF Athletics

Box Score

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - After an epic four hour and 24 minute game, the University of North Florida baseball team was victorious over Troy in a 10-9, 12-inning affair on Wednesday night at Harmon Stadium.

With runners on first and second, junior Justin Preckajlo recorded his fifth and most important hit of the night, a single down the left field line in the bottom of the 12th that allowed junior David Eldredge to score the winning run.

With the Ospreys trailing 9-8, redshirt freshman Andrew Karmeris, who also notched the win on the mound in his first career appearance, scored the tying run when junior TJ Thompson blasted a single up the middle. Karmeris led off the inning with a double to center.

UNF (6-9) cruised for most of the game, holding a 6-0 lead five innings before Troy slowly creeped back into it. Despite an 8-5 lead going into the top of the ninth, the Ospreys weren't able to hold. The Trojans tallied three unearned runs off senior RHP Ty Pryor that were aided by two crucial Osprey errors.

Troy's Shohei Fujita gave the Trojans their first lead of the game in the top of the 12th when he hit a line drive off the leg of UNF reliever Matt Boyd. Karmeris quickly stopped any further damage when he entered the game and got two Trojans to strike out.

The Ospreys got off to a fast start, putting up two runs in the bottom of the first. Thompson walked with the bases loaded to give UNF its first run. The Ospreys went up 2-0 when Eldredge hit into a fielder's choice, which allowed sophomore Sam Perry to score.

Sophomore Michael Smith helped extend UNF's lead to 3-0 in the bottom of the second when he hit a sacrifice fly to deep center field that allowed Preckajlo to score. Thompson tallied another RBI on a walk when the Ospreys had the bases full again.

In the bottom of the fourth, Karmeris drove in Smith with an RBI single up the middle. Troy reliever Jeff Green gave UNF another run in the bottom of the fifth when his balk allowed Preckajlo to cross the plate.

Troy finally answered with two runs in the top of the fifth and three runs in the top of the sixth. UNF fought in the bottom of the seventh when Smith's RBI double to center helped senior Brian Wilson score.

Preckajlo had another RBI in the bottom of the eighth when his single through the right side of the infield allowed Thompson to score.

Both pitching staffs were used to the fullest, with the teams combining to use 15 pitchers. The game duration was just 17 minutes off the longest home game in UNF history, which was against Indiana in the Kennel Club Classic on March 13, 2007.

It was the Ospreys' first extra-inning game since May 11, 2008, when UNF defeated Kennesaw State, 6- 5. It was also the second extra-inning affair between UNF and Troy, with the first coming last season in Troy, Ala., and the Trojans coming out on top 11-10 in 11 innings.

Wilson set a new career high with five hits and had two runs scored. Thompson finished tied for the game high with three RBIs. Sophomore LHP Robbie Collier got the start for the Ospreys and tossed an impressive 3.2 innings, not allowing any runs and giving up just three hits while striking out two. He would have been in line for the win had Troy not tied the game because he was in a controlled start.

UNF's 19 hits was a season high. The Ospreys also had a season-high three sacrifices and 36 putouts.

UNF will return to action at 1 p.m. on Saturday against Atlantic Sun Conference foe Florida Gulf Coast at Harmon Stadium for a doubleheader.