Box Score

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - The University of North Florida baseball team shut Mercer down for the final six innings of Sunday's game, but the Ospreys dug themselves in too deep of a hole after a six-run Mercer first and fell 7-2 at Harmon Stadium.

UNF (17-24, 11-10 Atlantic Sun Conference) collected only four hits - two of which were solo home runs by junior Kevin Martin and sophomore Sam Perry - and committed five errors. Despite the errors, only one run was unearned, and the Ospreys didn't allow any walks.

The Bears (18-20, 8-13) knocked UNF starting pitcher Tucker Pryor out of the game after just a third of an inning and tagged him for six runs (five earned). All of the runs were fueled by singles.

Mercer got another run in the top of the third on a sacrifice fly by catcher Casey Stuart. It was the last time a Bear crossed the plate. After that, UNF relievers Ty Pryor, Kristopher Linster and Paul Morales combined to throw six scoreless innings and allow only three hits while recording six strikeouts.

Morales made his first appearance on the mound since 2007 and made the most of it. He retired ever batter he faced and notched two strikeouts.

The Ospreys got on the board in the bottom of the fifth when Martin's towering blast went clear over the right field fence. Perry matched the feat in the bottom of the sixth when his high fly ball to left was snagged by the blowing wind and taken over the fence.

Mercer starting left-handed pitcher Dan April (2-4) was credited with the win after recording the complete game and allowing two runs on four hits to go along with eight strikeouts.

Despite the loss, UNF claimed its third-straight conference series win at home. The Ospreys improved their all-time record to 7-5 against Mercer.

UNF will return to action at 7 p.m. Tuesday when it travels to Coral Gables, Fla., to take on the 11th- ranked Miami Hurricanes. The game will be broadcast live on WBOB-AM 1320 in Jacksonville.