University of North Florida
FAMU
UNF finishes season on winning note
4/16/2009 9:13:00 PM | Softball
Battaglia sets single-season doubles mark
Game 2 Box Score
JACKSONVILLE
UNF (27-24) shutout FAMU (19-27) behind a Devyn Findley three-hit performance in the opener before senior Ashley Battaglia drove home three runs in the nightcap to help lead her squad to a 5-3 win.
On a day in which she was honored before the doubleheader for her time at UNF, Battaglia had three hits and four RBIs, while fellow senior Lauren Pulling had a pair of hits, drove in a run and scored one as well. Battaglia's two doubles in the nightcap gave her the UNF single-season record for doubles (25), breaking the old mark of 24 set by Kelly Lee in 2001.
“We hit the ball solid and we were able to build on the leads we took,” UNF head coach Marcie Hickey said. “That streak that we ended on showed the progress that we made over the course of a season. We have come together as a team and are playing well right now. We have a bright future and are looking good going into next season.”
UNF will return seven of its eight position players next season as well as pitchers Findley and Shaina Dent.
The pair of wins on Thursday helped Hickey complete her most successful season as a head coach in her first year at the helm of the UNF program.
Findley (12-17) continued her late season dominance for the Lady Ospreys in the opener, mowing through the FAMU lineup, surrendering only three infield hits while striking out nine. With her performance, Findley finished the season with 24-straight scoreless innings over a three-game stretch.
UNF spent the first three innings building a 4-0 advantage for Findley, scoring two in the first inning of play on an RBI single by Battaglia, who came around to score one batter later on an Airen Payne double.
Laura Williams scored in the bottom of the second before Caroline Torre and Alyson Bailey doubled back-to-back to make it a 4-0 UNF lead.
Pulling came into the game as a pinch hitter in the bottom of the sixth, completing the scoring when she drove in Bailey from third with an RBI single.
Pulling singled in the bottom of the first inning of game two as part of a three-run inning that saw the Lady Ospreys take a 3-1 advantage. Battaglia and Torre both had RBI doubles in the inning for UNF, with Torre driving in two runs. Florida A&M took one of those runs back in the top of the third on Melissa Oliphant's second RBI of the game.
Battaglia put UNF in the driver's seat in the bottom of the fifth inning with her second double of the contest – and single-season record setter – bringing home a pair of runs on the play to give the Lady Ospreys a 5-2 advantage.
Dent (14-5) would make that lead stand up, surrendering one run in the top of the sixth before finally closing the door in the seventh inning with the go-ahead run at the plate. Dent struck out 10 Rattlers in the win, walking two and giving up six hits.
UNF is not eligible for postseason play because of its transition to the NCAA Division I level. The Lady Ospreys, however, would have qualified for postseason play the last four years and will be fully eligible for both the Atlantic Sun and NCAA tournaments next season.
