Ospreys, Owls to Tangle in Georgia

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The University of North Florida baseball team heads north to Kennesaw, Ga. for a pivotal three-game Atlantic Sun Conference weekend series against long-time rival Kennesaw State. The Ospreys and Owls square off on Saturday and Sunday. The two teams meet up in a doubleheader beginning at 1 p.m. on Saturday, April 17, and conclude the series with a single game on Sunday, April 18, at 1 p.m.

The Ospreys enter the weekend in third place in the Atlantic Sun Conference with a 9-3 conference mark, a game back in the loss column to Stetson (7-2 A-Sun). Florida Gulf Coast is leading the A-Sun with a 12-3 conference record. Kennesaw State is in a three-way tie for seventh place with Mercer and Belmont with a 5-7 record in conference play.

The top six teams in the Atlantic Sun advance to the conference tournament with the top two teams receiving a first-round bye.

UNF leads the all-time series with the Owls, 31-26. The Ospreys are 12-13 all-time against Kennesaw State on the road and 1-5 in the last six games played in Kennesaw, Ga. UNF has played KSU more times than any other team, dating back to the inaugural season in 1988.

North Florida enters the weekend with a 21-15 overall record. Last week, the Ospreys swept a three-game conference series with USC Upstate, outscoring the Spartans 40-3. UNF also picked up a midweek victory over Bethune-Cookman to enter the weekend on a four-game winning streak.

UNF won the first game in mercy-rule fashion, defeating Upstate 16-3 in seven innings. In game two, senior pitcher Michael Kelly tossed his second complete game shutout of the season as UNF won, 14-0. In the final game of the series, senior hurler John Atteo tossed a complete game shutout of his own as the Ospreys defeated the Spartans, 10-0, to complete the sweep.

On the weekend, the Ospreys boasted a team earned run average of 1.08, while hitting a healthy .477. The pitching staff allowed just three runs on the weekend, while the UNF offense scored 40 runs on 53 hits, including nine doubles, a triple and six home runs.

Trailing 4-3 heading into the bottom of the 11th, the University of North Florida baseball team scored two runs with two outs to defeat Bethune-Cookman by a score of 5-4 on Tuesday night and pick up the 900th win in school history.

Kennesaw State enters the weekend with a 14-21 overall record and a 5-7 mark in Atlantic Sun Conference play. The Owls are on a bit of a slump, losing four of their last five games. KSU won the final game of a three-game conference series on the road at Lipscomb, defeating the Bison, 12-11, in 11 innings.

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