UNF to Finish Regular Season on the Road

Tuesday, May 18

Gainesville, Fla.

6:30 p.m.

University of North Florida

#4 Florida

5/18/2010 8:13:09 AM | Baseball

By: UNF Athletics

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The University of North Florida baseball team is set to finish the 2010 season on the road as the Ospreys play the final four regular season games of the year. The Ospreys take on the No. 4 Florida Gators in a game on Tuesday, May 18, at 6:30 p.m. UNF continues its road trip with a three-game Atlantic Sun Conference series against Florida Gulf Coast on Thursday and Friday, May 20-21.

The Ospreys enter the week 29-22 with a 14-9 mark in the A-Sun. UNF is one of just two teams to punch its ticket to the Atlantic Sun Conference Tournament with the Eagles already securing the top spot in the tournament. The Ospreys have secured their spot, but can finish anywhere from second place to sixth place depending on the outcome of several pivotal series this weekend, including UNF's matchup with FGCU.

North Florida is coming off of a series victory with A-Sun foe Stetson. The Ospreys claimed the first two games of the series before dropping the final game. UNF's Andrew Karmeris earned Atlantic Sun Player of the Week honors and teammate Michael Kelly picked up Pitcher of the Week accolades as the pair led the Ospreys to their first postseason play at the Division I level.

Karmeris, a sophomore, led the Ospreys offensively in four games, helping UNF to a 3-1 record on the week. The Palm Beach Gardens, Fla. native batted .500 on the week, going 8-for-16, with a home run, six runs batted in and seven runs scored. Karmeris, an international business major, hit safely in all four games on the week, recording multiple hits in three of the four games. He boasted a .688 slugging percentage on the week. The Osprey first baseman recorded three runs against Big East opponent USF, as well as three runs in the first game of the series against Stetson. Karmeris drove in a pair of runs against the Bulls and had three RBIs against the Hatters in game one of the series and hit his 10th home run of the season Saturday against Stetson.

Kelly, a senior left-hander, finished the week with a 1-0 record in two appearances for the Ospreys. The Mayo, Fla. native tossed a complete game against Stetson picking up the victory. Against the Hatters, he scattered seven hits in 9.0 innings, allowing one run. Kelly, a communications major, walked one batter, while recording a career-high 10 strikeouts. He threw an inning against Big East opponent USF, allowing a pair of hits and striking out two. For the week, Kelly struck out 12 batters in 10.0 innings. The southpaw allowed nine hits on the week, but did not allow an extra base hit, holding opponents to a .237 batting average.

North Florida is 4-3 all-time against Florida, including a 2-3 record against the Gators in Gainesville. The Ospreys opened the series with three consecutive victories, before dropping a pair of games. The clubs split two meetings last season, with each team holding serve on its own turf.

FGCU leads the all-time series against UNF, 5-2. The Ospreys won the first two meetings between the two teams, but have dropped five straight to the Eagles. Despite the record against Florida Gulf Coast, both victories for North Florida have come in Fort Myers.

Florida enters the game riding a four-game winning streak. Over the weekend, Florida notched its first sweep of Georgia at McKethan Stadium since 2000 to remain tied on top of the SEC standings with No. 6 South Carolina. The Gators and Gamecocks will meet in Columbia starting on Thursday to determine the league's regular-season champion. UF has won four-straight and has claimed 11 of its last 12 contests.

Recently named as the SEC Freshman of the Week, shortstop Nolan Fontana batted .300 and drew three walks against the Bulldogs. The Gators improved to 27-3 at home this season and were 13-2 in SEC play on their own turf. UF was 5-for-5 basepaths in the finale and 10-for-11 in the series. Florida's bullpen earned wins in the first two games and did not permit any earned runs over 10.2 innings of work, with eight strikeouts and zero walks.

The Florida Gulf Coast University baseball team, fresh off a series win over conference foe Jacksonville in which they clinched their third consecutive A-Sun Regular Season crown, will travel to Coral Gables to face No. 5 Miami on Tuesday night at Alex Rodriguez Park. The game with the Hurricanes is the final non-conference game for the Eagles before finishing off the regular season at home against the Ospreys.

The Blue and Green have outscored their opponents 415-301 thus far, and have a pitching staff that has an ERA of 5.22 and struck out 433 batters while walking 306.