Box Score Boxscore
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The University of North Florida baseball team picked up its first win of the season as the Ospreys concluded the North Florida Classic with a 6-5 victory over Florida A&M on Sunday night at Harmon Stadium.
The Ospreys (1-2) collected eight hits on the night, led by senior Preston Hale and junior Robbie Collier. Hale finished the game 3-for-3 with three RBI and a walk, while Collier finished the game 2-for-2 with three runs scored, two walks and an RBI.
Freshman Tommy Organ (1-0) picked up the win in relief. The Tarpon Springs, Fla. native tossed 1.0 innings, allowing no runs and recording a strikeout. Sophomore Andrew Karmeris closed out the final two innings, fanning two batters to earn the save.
“We did what we needed to do,” said head coach Dusty Rhodes. “We needed to win. They played pretty good against us. We struggled a little bit, but some of the pitchers did alright. Hale played well and that's why he is an all-conference guy. It doesn't make a difference who is on the mound. He is going to be patient and he is going to hit it hard. He did a really good job.”
Florida A&M was the first team to score, plating a run in the top of the first inning. An error allowed the leadoff batter to reach second base with no outs. The Ospreys recorded two outs but an RBI single to centerfield saw UNF trailing 1-0 after a half inning of play.
The Ospreys answered with a run in the bottom of the first inning. Junior Michael Smith led off the inning for UNF with a base on balls. A wild pitch moved Smith into scoring position and a ground out placed him on third. Hale drove in the tying run with an RBI single to knot the score at 1-1.
UNF took its first lead of the North Florida Classic with two runs in the bottom of the second inning. Collier walked to lead off the inning and junior Andrew Hannon followed with a walk. Collier came around to score on a throwing error by the Rattlers. Hale followed with a sacrifice fly to give the Ospreys a 3-1 lead.
Florida A&M responded with two runs in the top of the third inning. A home run cut the UNF lead to one. Back-to-back singles gave the Rattlers runners on the corners and a two-out single knotted the score at 3-3.
North Florida took the lead back in the fourth inning. Collier started off the inning with a walk and advanced to second, beating out the throw on a fielder's choice. Hale came through with an RBI single through the right side of the infield that allowed Collier to score from second.
The Ospreys added a run in the fifth inning. UNF started the inning with a walk and an error gave the hosts a runner in scoring position. With a runner on second, Collier delivered an RBI single to give North Florida a 5-3 advantage.
Florida A&M scored one run in both the sixth and seventh inning to tie the score at 5-5.
UNF took the lead for good in the bottom of the seventh inning. Freshman Corey Bass led off the inning with a single to third base. Collier followed with a bunt single to first base to give the Ospreys a pair of base runners. A fielder's choice eliminated the lead runner, but left North Florida with two runners. A wild pitch advanced the runners and a sacrifice fly by Smith scored Collier from third, giving UNF a 6-5 advantage.
Karmeris entered the game for the final two innings. He retired the final six batters of the game in order, closing out the game with a strikeout.
North Florida returns to action on Wednesday, Feb. 24, as they head to Tallahassee, Fla. to take on in-state rival FloridaState. First pitch against the Seminoles is slated for 4 p.m.
