Baseball | 3/30/2009 9:38:00 PM
Box Score 1 |
Box Score 2 Game One Box Score
Game Two Box Score
BUIES CREEK, N.C. - The University of North Florida baseball team brought out the broom on Monday and swept the series with Campbell after taking both games of a doubleheader, 12-2 and 16-13. UNF completed the sweep in dramatic fashion, coming back in game two from a three-run deficit with a six-run ninth inning.
Junior Kevin Martin had a colossal day for UNF, combining to go 3-for-6 with seven RBIs, two doubles and a home run. Junior Tucker Pryor also stood out, notching two saves. Right-handed pitchers Phil Rorabaugh and Greg Koehler also notched their first wins of the season.
With the wins, the Ospreys improved to .500 in the Atlantic Sun Conference and moved into sixth place with a 6-6 record. UNF also improved to 12-16 overall and have now won six of its last seven.
After letting an 8-5 lead go in game two and falling behind 13-10, the Ospreys used the most of their final three outs in the top of the ninth. Junior David Eldredge began to chip away at Campbell's lead with an RBI single to left center, bringing junior Preston Hale in to score.
Then Martin, who pinch hit for sophomore Sam Perry, crushed a two-run double to left center field to drive in freshman Alex Rodriguez and redshirt freshman Andrew Karmeris and knot the game at 13.
UNF didn't let up and loaded the bases after two- straight walks by Campbell's Josh Fish, which set the table for Steve Hillan to score the go-ahead run on a passed ball by Campbell catcher Stephen Parsons.
Junior TJ Thompson completed the job with a two- run single to drive in Wilson and sophomore Robbie Collier, giving the Ospreys a comfortable lead. From there, Pryor took care of business again by striking out the side.
The Ospreys' six-run ninth was their largest inning of the season, and their run total for the game was also the most they've scored this year. It was UNF's first come-from-behind win of the season.
The waters were a little smoother for UNF in game one, led by the solid pitching of Rorabaugh, who allowed just two runs on four hits in 6.0 innings of work. He struck out four Camels. Pryor mopped up the last three innings, not giving up a hit and striking out one.
Campbell (11-13, 2-9) gave the Ospreys trouble in the bottom of the first when it put up two runs, but Hale responded with a monstrous two-run triple to right field to drive in Wilson and sophomore Michael Smith.
Martin was responsible for half of the rest of UNF's offense. In the top of the sixth, he launched a two-run double to right, allowing Eldredge and Thompson to cross the plate. He put the icing on the cake in the top of the ninth when he forever left his mark at Campbell and hit a towering three-run home run off the Camels' scoreboard. It capped off a five-run ninth for the Ospreys.
Thompson finished the day 4-for-9 with four runs scored, six RBIs and a home run. Wilson went 5-for- 10 with a home run and four runs scored.
UNF's 18 hits in game two were a season high. The Ospreys have now won five conference games in a row, which ties a program-best in Division I. It was also UNF's first series sweep since 2007 when it swept Campbell in Buies Creek.
UNF will return to action at 6 p.m. on Tuesday when it travels to Statesboro, Ga., to take on regional rival Georgia Southern.
