University of North Florida
Florida Gulf Coast
UNF ends FGCU winning streak
3/21/2009 8:10:00 PM | Softball
Lady Ospreys open doubleheader with 8-2 victory
UNF (14-16, 4-2 A-Sun) came out swinging in the opener and never let up, winning the contest 8-2 before falling in the nightcap 6-5 in eight innings to the Eagles (33-5, 3-1 A-Sun).
“We wanted to break yup their momentum and end their streak,” UNF head coach Marcie Hickey said. “We hit the ball consistent and Devyn Findley did a good job of keeping them off balance all day. We wanted to be in attack mode all game. The teams we are playing now are too good to take any innings off.”
The Lady Ospreys had 17 hits on the day with Ashley Battaglia collecting three hits in the opener and Britanie Block reaching on a pair of base hits in the nightcap. Block was one of four Lady Ospreys with hits in both ends of the doubleheader.
Findley (7-10) threw a complete-game in the opener, limiting the best offensive team in the Atlantic Sun Conference to only two runs before coming on in the second game to strike out five in relief.
The Lady Osprey offense struck first in game one, plating a pair of runs in the first inning. Battaglia drove home the opening run of the game with a double that scored Arianna Godwin before scoring herself when Caroline Torre reached on a bases loaded walk. Torre drove in her second run of the game in the third inning with an RBI single that plated Nicolette Chimato to give UNF a 3-1 advantage.
UNF kept tacking on to the lead from there, scoring two more runs in the fifth, one in the sixth and one more in the seventh on a Battaglia home run that hit the foul pole in left field.
Findley worked her way out of several jams in the contest, leaving 13 Eagles on base.
Courtney Platt and Desiree Miller each had two hits to lead the Eagle offense.
UNF jumped on top again in the second game, taking advantage of a Cheyenne Jenks error to take a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first.
FGCU was able to bounce back, however, claiming a 5-3 advantage on home runs by Jessica Carter and Miller, who came off the bench to hit a three-run home run. UNF's Airen Payne tied the game with a home run of her own in the bottom of the fifth.
Findley found herself in one last bases-loaded jam in the top of the eighth and couldn't turn the Eagles away, surrendering a run on a Samantha Waldron base hit up the middle.
The Lady Ospreys tried to put together a two-out rally in the bottom of the eighth, putting a pair of runners on before Block flew out to end the game.
The road ahead doesn't get any easier for UNF, which will host 22nd-ranked
