JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - The University of North Florida softball team will travel to Clearwater, Fla. to play in the USF "The Game" Tournament on Friday-Sunday, March 19-21.
The Ospreys face Dartmouth at 4 p.m. on Friday, followed by a fourth meeting of the year against FAMU at 6 p.m. Saturday's games will consist of Maryland at noon, followed by No. 16 (NFCA Top 25 Poll) Ohio State at 3 p.m. The final day of the tournament will be on Sunday with a game at 11 a.m. against Long Island University.
The Ospreys (11-16, 1-1 A-Sun) split its opening Atlantic Sun Conference doubleheader Wednesday at Stetson, winning game one, 3-1, before dropping the second game 1-0. Senior Devyn Findley picked up her ninth win of the season in game one. Sophomore pitcher Shaina Dent recorded her first save of the season in the first game and pitched six scoreless innings in the second game before an unearned run came in to give her the loss.
Junior Caroline Torre jumped past .300 for the season after the Stetson series and leads the team with a .310 batting average. Sophomore Britanie Block is second on the team, batting .303.
UNF will play Dartmouth (1-6) in game one of the tournament, which will be their first-ever meeting. Dartmouth's Hillary Hubert leads the team with a batting average of .467. In six games played, Hubert leads the team with seven hits and four RBIs. Noelle Ramirez and Leigha Clarkson share the top of the team's leader board with two home runs. Hillary Barker (1-3), in four starts and 28 innings pitched, has a 3.86 ERA.
FAMU has seen the Ospreys three other times this season. Overall UNF leads the series this season 2-1. In their first meeting this season the Ospreys beat the Rattlers in the UCF Tournament, 4-0. In the second meeting the Ospreys traveled to Tallahassee, Fla. for a doubleheader that ended in a split.
On day two of the tournament North Florida's 10 a.m. game against Maryland will be broadcasted on USF Bulls Vision. For more information on this subscription based live web-streaming product click HERE.
The Maryland softball team won both of its games Wednesday morning in the Florida Rebel Games in Kissimmee, Fla. The Terps earned 9-1 wins over both Akron and Columbia and moved to 12-9 on the year. Sophomore Kendra Knight threw a no-hitter over six innings against Columbia.
Ohio State (13-6) finished last season in the top 25 and has remained there heading into Florida to play a total of eight games for their spring break. Buckeye Alicia Herron is leading the team with a .404 batting average. The Cypress, Calif., native hit .462 at the Ten Construction Tournament, recording four RBI off two doubles. Senior catcher Sam Marder leads the squad with 17 RBI this season and has 163 in her career, which is three shy of tying the all-time program record. The pitching corps has an ERA of 3.12, while its opponents have combined for a 5.88 ERA.
North Florida will play Long Island (9-10) on the last day of the tournament. Senior Blair Porter notched a season-high nine strikeouts as the Long Islandl team defeated Dartmouth, 3-0, on Thursday in Tampa, Fla. Junior Bianca Mejia clubbed two doubles and senior Mariesha Marker knocked in two runs as the Blackbirds won their second straight. Mejia currently leads Long Island with a .346 batting average and in home runs with two.
North Florida at USF "The Game" Tournament
March 19-21, 2010
Location: Clearwater, Fla.
Field: Eddie C. Moore Complex
Tickets: 3-Day Tournament Package: Adults - $15; Students (6-17) - $10; Single Day tickets: Adults - $8; Students - $6; Children (5 and under) - free. (Purchase through Ticketmaster)
Tournament Central: http://www.gousfbulls.com/ViewArticle.dbml?&DB_OEM_ID=7700&ATCLID=204825742
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