Box Score Boxscore
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The University of North Florida baseball team got back-to-back home runs in the bottom of the first inning to take a 3-0 lead and relied on excellent pitching to hold on for a 3-1 victory over No. 7 Florida State on Tuesday night at the Baseball Grounds of Jacksonville.
The victory was the 10th win over a ranked Division I opponent for Hall of Fame head coach Dusty Rhodes. With the victory, Rhodes stands one win shy of 1,200 for his career and four back of 900 victories at UNF.
The win marks the second time in as many years that UNF has defeated Florida State when the Seminoles were ranked in the top 10. Last season, UNF picked up a 5-4 victory over No. 6 Florida State in Tallahassee, Fla., on March 4, 2009. In the game, Steve Hillan hit what proved to be the game-winning home run to lift the Ospreys.
North Florida recorded just four hits on the night, but made them count as the Ospreys belted a pair of home runs in the first inning to take a 3-0 lead. Junior Robbie Collier recorded his first home run of the season, a two-run homer that proved to be the difference in the ballgame. Senior Justin Preckajlo followed with a solo home run to give UNF a 3-0 advantage.
Three runs would be enough as the UNF pitching staff held the Seminoles prolific offense to just one run on five hits.
Starting pitcher John Atteo picked up his third win of the season. The senior allowed one hit in 2.0 innings of work of a controlled start. Atteo walked three batters, but countered that with three strikeouts.
Junior George Lott worked the next 2.0 innings. He allowed one run on two hits, walking two and striking out one.
Lott gave way to Tommy Organ. The freshman hurler worked 3.2 innings scoreless innings, allowing just one hit. Organ walked a pair, but struck out three batters.
Junior closer Casey Medlen finished the final 1.1 innings. He surrendered one hit and struck out three batters without allowing a walk. Medlen fanned the final two batters of the game, including All-American Steven Cardullo, to secure the victory for the Ospreys.
The Ospreys were the first team to scratch the scoreboard, as UNF plated three runs in the bottom of the first inning. With two outs, Preston Hale started things off with a single off of the top of the right field wall, just inches away from a home run. Collier followed with a two-RBI home run to left field.
For Collier, the home run was his first of the season and the second of his UNF career. Three pitches later, Preckajlo followed with his sixth home run of the season.
The back-to-back home runs marked the second time this season the Ospreys have recorded back-to-back homers in a game. Hale and Andrew Karmeris delivered back-to-back shots in the ninth inning against East Tennessee State on April 2, in a 13-5 victory.
The Seminoles scored a run in the top of the third inning to cut the Osprey's lead to 3-1. Back-to-back singles to start off the inning gave the Noles a pair of base runners. With no outs, FSU loaded the bases with a walk. A strikeout recorded the first out of the inning. Florida State used a sacrifice fly to score the lead runner, but a groundout to short ended the inning with no further damage.
The pitching for both teams kept the other team off of the scoreboard over the final six innings of the game as UNF finished the game with a 3-1 victory.
North Florida and Florida State will play again on Wednesday, April 7, in Tallahassee, Fla., in a game slated for 6 p.m. at Mike Martin Field at Dick Howser Stadium.
