Boxscore
JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. – The University of North Florida baseball team set the school record with 10 doubles against East Tennessee State en route to a 13-5 victory on the road at Cardinal Park in Johnson City, Tenn.
The Ospreys (15-13, 5-2 Atlantic Sun) broke the previous school record of nine double, set on March 13, 2007, against Indiana in 16 innings. UNF had nine doubles through the first six innings of the game on Friday night.
Individually, senior David Eldredge set the school record with four doubles. He broke a record that was previously held by eight different Osprey batters. The record was originally set during the inaugural season by Kenny Layfield (1988) and was most recently tied by Kevin Johnson (2004). Eldredge finished the game 4-for-5 with two runs scored and an RBI.
Sophomore Andrew Karmeris also finished the game 4-for-5, with two runs scored, two RBI and a home run. Four other Ospreys recorded multiple hits on the night, including Preston Hale (3-for-5), Michael Smith (3-for-6), Andrew Hannon (2-for-6) and Justin Preckajlo (2-for-6). Smith finished the game with a pair of doubles, while Hale had a double and a home run.
The other Ospreys who recorded doubles on the night and helped set school record included Steve Hillan, Preckajlo and T.J. Thompson.
Not to be outdone, the pitching staff posted a stellar performance. Starter George Lott picked up his team-leading fourth win of the season. The junior scattered eight hits in 6.2 innings of work. He allowed five runs with just four earned runs with two walks. Lott recorded a career-best eight strikeouts, besting his previous high of seven set against Jacksonville on March 19, 2010. Casey Medlen came into the game in relief and worked 2.1 scoreless innings. The junior allowed just one hit, while striking out four and registering no walks.
UNF was the first team to score as the Ospreys plated a run in the first inning. Smith recorded a double with one out to start things out for UNF. Smith moved to third base on a ground out. With two outs, Karmeris drew a four-pitch walk to give UNF runners on the corners. ETSU struck out the next batter, but the final pitch of the at bat was wild allowing all runners to advance, scoring Smith from third.
ETSU answered with a run in the bottom of the first inning to tie the score at 1-1. A single gave the Bucs their first base runner of the game. An error gave ETSU runners on first and second with no outs. A fly ball to center field and a strikeout saw the hosts with two runners on and two outs. A check-swing ground ball down the first base line resulted in a bang-bang play that saw all runners safe. On the play, the runner on second managed to score, tying the score.
The Ospreys used a four-run second inning to regain the lead, 5-1. With one out, Eldredge doubled to right field. He came around to score on a Hillan double to left field. With two outs, Smith delivered an RBI single up the middle to score Hillan from second. Hale followed with a single to shallow right field to give UNF runners at the corners. Smith came around to score on a wild pitch and Hale moved to second base on the play. Karmeris delivered a bloop single over the head of the first baseman scored Hale from second to give the Ospreys a four-run edge.
The Buccaneers plated a run in the bottom of the third inning. Back-to-back doubles off of the hill in right field allowed one runner to score and cut the Ospreys' lead to 5-2.
North Florida increased its lead to 8-2 with three runs in the top of the fifth inning. Preckajlo led off the inning with a double off of the center field wall. Thompson walked to give UNF a pair of base runners. With one out, Eldredge delivered an RBI double to left center field to score Preckajlo. With runners on second and third and two outs, Hannon plated two runners with an RBI single to right field.
UNF added three runs to its lead in the top of the sixth inning. The Ospreys used four hits; including two more doubles to score three runs to build an 11-2 lead.
ETSU cut into the Ospreys lead with three runs in the bottom of the sixth inning. The inning was highlighted for the Bucs with a two-run home run to left field.
UNF added a pair of runs in the top of the ninth inning. Hale and Karmeris hit back-to-back solo home runs to increase the Osprey lead to 13-5. The back-to-back homers marked the first time this season North Florida had back-to-back home runs.
North Florida and East Tennessee State will conclude the series with a doubleheader on Saturday afternoon. First pitch of the first game is slated for 1 p.m. at Cardinal Park.
