University of North Florida
Florida
Gators invade UNF on Tuesday
3/23/2009 7:57:52 PM | Baseball
Ospreys take on No. 23 Florida twice this week
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (March 23, 2009) - The University of North Florida campus will be rocking on Tuesday when No. 23 Florida visits Harmon Stadium to take on the UNF baseball team in what is being billed as the most anticipated sporting event in campus history. The Ospreys will also take a trip to Gainesville, Fla., on Wednesday to face the Gators.
The game at Harmon Stadium is scheduled to begin shortly after 7 p.m., and ticket gates will open at 5 p.m. The first pitch thrown out by Jacksonville Jaguars Rashean Mathis and Daryl Smith. It will be the first time UNF and Florida have met on the UNF campus and just the second time the teams have played each other in Jacksonville.
Following Tuesday's showdown, the teams will meet again at 6:30 p.m. at McKethan Stadium in Gainesville. The series is tied 2-2 at McKethan Stadium, with the Gators holding the advantage in the last two contests.
UNF is coming off an Atlantic Sun Conference series win against Belmont over the weekend at Harmon Stadium. After dropping game one of the series 8-5 on Friday night, the Ospreys came back strong to win games two and three, 3-0, and 11-5, respectively. The game-three win gave UNF 550 all- time wins at Harmon Stadium. The Ospreys hit .333 as a team against Belmont with seven extra-base hits (four doubles and three home runs) while recording a solid 3.33 team ERA.
Florida has won five straight, including a three- game sweep against Tennessee in Gainesville over the weekend. The Gators beat then-No. 18 Florida State on March 17, 5-4, to begin the win streak. UNF also beat FSU 5-4 on March 6. Florida is hitting .285 as a team and is averaging over six runs per game, and its pitching staff has a 3.58 ERA.
What: Baseball vs. No. 23 Florida; at No. 23 Florida
When: Tuesday, 7 p.m.; Wednesday, 6:30 p.m.
Where: Harmon Stadium (Jacksonville, Fla.); McKethan Stadium (Gainesville, Fla.)
UNF Admission (Tuesday): $8 for general admission, free for ages 12 and under, free for UNF students with ID
Florida Admission (Wednesday): $8 for reserved chairbacks, $6 for reserved bleachers, $4 for general admission
Live Video (Tuesday): Click here
Radio (Tuesday and Wednesday): WBOB-AM 1320 in Jacksonville
Live Stats (Tuesday): Click here
Live Stats (Wednesday): Click here
UNF's Record: 8-15, 3-6 Atlantic Sun Conference
Florida's Record: 14-7, 3-3 Southeastern Conference
Probable Pitching Matchups: Tuesday - UNF: LHP Michael Kelly (0-1, 6.75 ERA, 10 K) vs. Florida: RHP Anthony DeSclafani (1-0, 5.02 ERA, 15 K); Wednesday - TBA
Series History: UNF leads, 3-2
Last Three Results: UNF 11, UF 10 (11) - April 2, 2008; UF 5, UNF 3 - April 8, 2008; UF 3, UNF 2 - April 9, 2008
Who's Hot: Senior RHP John Frawley was named the Atlantic Sun Conference Pitcher of the Week on Monday after tossing 11.0 scoreless innings last week in games against FIU and Belmont. The highlight of his week came on Sunday when he led the Ospreys to a 3-0 win over Belmont after hurling a complete-game shutout and striking out 10 Bruins. Last Wednesday against FIU, he threw 2.0 scoreless innings of relief and tallied two strikeouts.
Notables: UNF is 1-0 all-time against the Gators in Jacksonville, claiming a 6-5 win on April 4, 2006 at the Baseball Grounds of Jacksonville ... Frawley notched the win in that game, tossing 3.1 innings of scoreless relief ... Florida has won the past two games in the series ... three of the five games have been decided by one run ... junior TJ Thompson is hitting .533 (8-for-15) for his career against the Gators with four runs scored, four RBIs and two doubles ... between both teams, nine players were former teammates in either high school or junior college ... UNF head coach Dusty Rhodes was a UF assistant from 1982-87 ... Florida assistant Craig Bell played at UNF from 1988-89 and played on the 1989 NAIA College World Series team that finished third in the nation ... Florida assistant Brad Weitzel was an original member of the UNF baseball coaching staff, serving as an assistant for Rhodes from 1987-91 and helping lead the Ospreys to two NAIA College World Series appearances (1989 and 1991) ... Tuesday's crowd is expected to be the largest in Harmon Stadium history ... the previous high was 1,121 on Feb. 23, 2008, in a 17-9 win over Mississippi State ... UNF is 7-8 all-time against SEC opponents but has lost four straight against the conference ... the Ospreys dropped two contests to SEC foe Mississippi State at the beginning of the season ... UNF is currently on a two-game win streak after dropping five straight ... senior Brian Wilson is currently on a seven-game hitting streak ... UNF has hit a home run in each of the last three contests ... the Ospreys are 5-6 against right-handed starters this season.
